


Parent Trapped

by notalwaysthevillian



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Getting Together, Inspired by The Parent Trap (1998), M/M, Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-12 16:06:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21479110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notalwaysthevillian/pseuds/notalwaysthevillian
Summary: The Picanis have just moved from Elmville to Fairview. With a much smaller town, Emile is hoping that one of his twin sons, Virgil, will be able to do better in school. Patton is there to help his brother every step of the way.The twins quickly meet the Sanders boys - Roman and Logan. They become fast friends, willing to do anything for each other.After a little while, Roman brings up that their parents appear to have feelings for each other.Let the plan commence.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil & Creativity | Roman & Logic | Logan & Morality | Patton, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Dr. Emile Picani/Sleep | Remy Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Remile
Comments: 58
Kudos: 128





	1. Moving In

**Author's Note:**

> This is only inspired by the Parent Trap. It doesn't follow the plot of the movie, the only takeaway is that the two parents fall for each other due to their kids' meddling.

Patton Picani stared out the car window as they drove through their new town. He was careful to keep his excitement down so that he wouldn’t wake up his sleeping brother. He’d been so nervous about moving that he hadn’t slept at all the previous night, only to pass out as soon as they’d gotten in the car.

The moving van was leading their way through town. Patton could see a few kids his age looking at the van, probably wondering who the new people were. He hoped they were friendly!

“What do you think, Pat?” His dad asked from the front seat.

“I like this place.” Patton’s glasses clinked against the window as he pressed his face against it. “It’s a lot smaller than Elmville.”

“Hopefully it’s easier for V.”

There was some shifting in the seat backseat as Virgil finally woke up. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, panicking as he realized he was in the car.

Patton quickly reached over, grabbing his hand and rubbing soothing circles into the skin. “It’s okay V. It’s moving day, remember?”

There was only a slight release of tension in his shoulders. With the hand Patton wasn’t holding onto, Virgil flipped up his hood.

Shortly after, Emile pulled into the driveway of their house. The moving van parked by the curb and a few workers hopped out, heading for the back.

“You boys ready to work?” Emile asked as the three of them got out of the car.

They both nodded, Patton clearly more excited than Virgil.

Grabbing the boxes labelled ‘kitchen’, Emile set them on their island. “If you boys could get the kitchen set up, that would be a huge help. The movers and I will get the bigger furniture inside, so when you guys are done with that you can set up your rooms. When we’re exhausted, we’ll order some pizza.”

Virgil pulled out his pocket knife, slicing open the tape on the box. He and Patton immediately dug inside as their father left the room.

“What if we don’t like it here?” Virgil asked as they started putting mugs in a cabinet.

Patton pulled their favorites out, leaving them off to the side for later. “I think we will. You were asleep when we came through most of town, but everything is really close. The library is only a few blocks from here, we could walk to it every day. And there’s a cafe right across from it in case we get hungry.”

Virgil nodded, but Patton could tell he wasn’t convinced. He had that look in his eye that he got when he was worried about something, but he didn’t want to talk about it.

Instead of pressing the issue, Patton slid over the next box. “Can you open that one?”

The two quickly formed a rhythm. Virgil would open the box and decide where the items went. Patton would start emptying it as Virgil moved to the next box. When Patton could no longer reach, Virgil would take over, his few extra inches allowing him to  _ just _ reach the top shelves in the cabinets.

It took them all morning to completely unpack the kitchen. The refrigerator was still empty, but all of their dishes were now in their proper places, as well as the cleaning supplies under the sink.

After stacking the boxes, they started looking for their dad.

“All done already?” He asked when they found him in the master bedroom. “I knew I picked the right ones for the job.”

“This is the last of it.” One of the movers said, wiping sweat from his brow.

Emile immediately grabbed his wallet. “Let me walk you out. Boys, you can work on your bedrooms if you like. If you’re too tired, just get out some clothes for tomorrow and throw some sheets on your beds.”

The two boys looked at each other before darting down the hall. They found each of their rooms with ease. Patton had a canopy bed, easily distinguished from Virgil’s more modern bedframe.

“Look at your window seat!” Patton bounced on his toes. “When it rains we can make a blanket fort in here.”

“We definitely have enough materials for that.” Virgil said, a small smile starting to form. “You have direct view of the driveway, Pat.”

“Good! I’ll know if any of our friends come over.”

Virgil sat on his window seat, wrapping his arms around his legs. “Pat...what if no one wants to be my friend?”

“Why wouldn’t they?”

Virgil shot his brother a look, flicking his dark hair out of his eyes.

“V, anxiety is something a lot of people have.” Patton sat across from his brother, nothing but truth shining in his eyes as he repeated what he’d heard their dad say a few times. “It’s not something to be ashamed about. And if people don’t like you for that, then it’s their loss because I think you’re awesome.”

The edges of Virgil’s lips twitched ever so slightly. “Thanks Pat.”

“Hug?”

Truly smiling now, Virgil slid into his brother’s arms, the pressure calming him down almost immediately.

“Boys?”

“In here!” They called out in unison.

Emile walked in, peering through his glasses at his phone. “What kind of pizza do you want? They have a coupon for two one-topping pizzas and a liter of soda.”

“Pepperoni!”

“Sausage!”

Emile laughed. “Alright, pepperoni and sausage it is. I’ll get some Sprite for all of us, is that okay?”

“Yep!”

While they waited for the pizza, Virgil and Patton did a little bit of unpacking.

Virgil made his bed and grabbed his clothes for the next day, before digging through his boxes and finding his weighted blanket.

Patton did the same, but opted to start putting some of his clothes away.

When they heard the doorbell ring, they both headed downstairs, Virgil wearing his blanket over his shoulders.

Emile took the pizzas and handed them to the boys before giving the delivery driver a generous tip. “Thank you very much.”

“No problem sir.” The driver said, eyes widening at the tip. “Have a nice night.”

“You as well!”

By the time Emile got into the kitchen, Patton and Virgil already had pizza on their plates.

“I don’t have the cable set up yet, but I did set up the router.” Emile said as he grabbed a few slices. “We can watch something on Netflix.”

Patton looked over at Virgil. “Anything in particular you want to watch?”

“Just something relaxing.”

Heading into the living room, Patton grabbed the remote and pulled up The Great British Bake Off. “Is this good?”

“It’s perfect.” Virgil leaned back into their new couch, loving how soft it was. He rearranged his blanket on his shoulders as Patton picked a season to watch.

After finishing their pizza, Emile gathered their plates. Patton roused a nearly asleep Virgil, helping him to his feet.

“C’mon, V, we’ve had a long day.” He started leading his brother to their bedrooms. “Let’s get some rest.”

Half dragging Virgil, Patton got them upstairs. Virgil snuggled closer to him when they got upstairs.

“Did you want to sleep in my room tonight?” Patton whispered.

Virgil nodded, his eyelids drooping again.

“Go put on some pajamas.”

By the time Emile finished cleaning up and checked in on his sons, they were curled up on Patton’s bed. He smiled at their sleeping forms before flicking on the hall light and mostly closing the door.

Knowing the boys were safe and sound, he headed to his room, opting to watch some Parks and Rec on his laptop before he joined his sons in a peaceful slumber.

The next morning, Emile rose bright and early, like he always did. He took a quick shower before deciding to go for a walk around the neighborhood. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, painting the houses in a beautiful golden glow.

As he rounded the corner, he nearly bumped into small woman who had her hair neatly tied up in a ponytail, blonde waves cascading down her back.

“Pardon me!” He said, moving to the side.

Instead of continuing on, she stopped, pulling her headphones out of her ears. “Sorry, I don’t normally run into anyone on my morning walks. This neighborhood is full of night owls. It’s nice to meet another early bird!”

“Same here.” Emile held out a hand. “I’m Emile Picani. My sons and I just moved in.”

“Oh!” The woman shook his hand, flashing him a big smile. “You’re our new neighbors. I’m Juliet Task. My husband and I have a set of triplets. They’re sophomores at the high school.”

Emile couldn’t help but match her happy energy. “My sons will be starting on Monday! They’re freshman.”

“Did you guys need any help unpacking? My husband and I try to keep our Sundays open in case the kids need any homework help, but we could spare a few hours.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to be a burden.”

Juliet shook her head, a stern look on her face. “Nonsense! Our last neighbors were shut ins, I’m not allowing that to happen to someone as lovely as you. I’ll even bring over some dessert.”

Emile laughed. “That’s very kind of you, Juliet. You’re welcome at any time. Though my youngest does prefer to sleep in, and he’s had a bit of a rough move.”

“Poor thing.” Juliet put an earbud back in. “I’ll see you in a little while!”

“See you!”

Emile finished his walk, finding Patton in the kitchen when he came back in.

“I forgot we didn’t have anything in the fridge.” He said, his stomach punctuating the sentence with a growl.

Grabbing his keys, Emile said, “I’ll run to the store and grab some eggs and bread right now. Let Virgil know where I went if he wakes up, but I’ll be back in about five minutes.”

Patton headed back upstairs. He quietly unpacked a few more boxes, doing his best to not wake Virgil up.

The silence was ruined when he dropped a box on his foot and let out a yelp.

“Pat?” Virgil mumbled as he sat up. His normally straightened hair had started to curl overnight, pulling up and away from his eyes. “You okay?”

Patton opened the flaps of the box. “I’m fine! Just clumsy. Oh! Virgil, look!”

Patton pulled a small trophy out of the box. Virgil couldn’t help but smile, remembering how happy Patton had been when he’d gotten a trophy for ‘cutest smile’ in the fourth grade. Their whole class had voted, and since the winner had been unanimous, the teacher had bought a trophy. Of course, that had set off a whole slew of angry parents, but Patton didn’t know that.

In fact, Virgil only knew that because he’d come to class early, anxious about being late, and had overheard the teacher on the phone. He’d never told Patton, knowing it would crush his spirit.

The two of them perked up as they heard the front door open, darting downstairs. Emile set the bag down on the kitchen counter, pulling out a carton of eggs, a loaf of bread, and a small package of bacon.

“I’ll go grocery shopping a little later, but I figure we can have this for breakfast and some leftover pizza for lunch.”

“Okay!”

Patton grabbed a frying pan off of their rack, twisting the knob on the stove to get the heat going. Virgil started peeling apart the bacon and getting it in the microwave. They’d had a few issues with cooking bacon in the pan before. After that, they agreed that it was safer to cook it in the microwave.

Emile threw some bread in the toaster, not pushing the levers down until Patton cracked the first egg.

Working in tandem, they got breakfast on the table. Each of them grabbed their plate, moving to the dining room table for this meal.

“So, I ran into a neighbor this morning on my walk.” Emile started, smearing butter on his toast. “She said she lives right next door to us, and offered to help us unpack some things. Her name is Juliet and she’s very nice.”

“Juliet is such a pretty name!” Patton took a bite of his bacon.

“Are you going to be alright if she brings her family over, Virgil?” Emile asked, looking at his younger son. “I can always tell her that you’re sleeping.”

Virgil chewed on his lower lip for a second. “Her whole family?”

“Yes, she talked about bringing over her husband and her triplets. But if you’re not going to feel comfortable -”

“I think I’ll be okay.” Virgil said, spreading the egg yolk around his plate. “I’ll let you know if it’s too much.”

Almost as soon as the three of them had finished and cleaned up their breakfast, the doorbell rang. Emile opened it up, feeling his sons behind him.

Once more a pair of sparkling blue eyes shone up at him. “Is it too early?”

“Never.” Emile said, waving a hand. Virgil and Patton moved out of the way as the Task family entered the house.

A bigger man with dark skin who stood tall compared to his tiny wife held out a hand. “Brad Task. Juliet came home absolutely gushing about the polite new neighbor.”

As the adults got acquainted, Patton and Virgil had led the triplets into the living room.

The triplets all shared the same wavy black hair and green eyes, which made it harder to tell them apart.

“I’m Tanya!” One of them said, her grin showing off her dimples. “That’s Ted and that’s Trevor. Trevor is the one with the birthmark in case you need to tell them apart.”

“Nice to meet you guys!” Patton wiggled in place. “I’m Patton, and that’s Virgil. We’re twins!”

Virgil nodded, beside Patton, doing his best to look inviting.

Tanya tilted her head, looking at Virgil. “I like your hoodie. It looks really comfy.”

“It is.” Virgil flipped the hood up, anxiety getting the better of him. “It’s starting to get some holes in it though.”

“I could help!” Ted offered. “My mom’s been teaching me a little bit of sewing. She said that since I keep putting holes in my clothes, I should learn how to stitch them up.”

As the kids bonded in the living room, the adults walked in and started unpacking. Brad helped Emile get the cable set up while Juliet got the kids to help her unpack all the knick knacks.

“This is such a cute photo.” Juliet said, holding up a photo in a silver frame.

Patton and Virgil exchanged a quick look, before Patton spoke up. “That was taken just after we were born.”

“Where’s your mom now?” Tanya asked, before she covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry, that was - you don’t have to answer that.”

“No, it’s okay.” Emile said as he walked over. “Their mom was a wonderful person. Unfortunately, she passed away not long after the boys were born. There had been some complications during the birth and the doctors didn’t catch them in time.”

Tears shone in Emile’s eyes as he spoke. Patton and Virgil hugged him tightly.

“Do you miss her?” Trevor asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Emile nodded, taking in a deep breath. “Every day. But I know she’s watching over us, and that she’d want me to keep living life to the fullest.”

“That’s a very positive attitude to have.” Brad said, wrapping his arms around his wife and kissing the top of her head.

One slightly awkward silence later, they continued unpacking.

With the help of the Tasks, the Picanis had a functioning home in no time at all. The only boxes left to unpack were sitting in each of their bedrooms.

“I think it’s time for a break.” Juliet said as Brad and Emile came back in from recycling the boxes. “Who wants some chocolate cake?”

“ME!” The kids all shouted.

“That sounds delicious!”

Brad grinned at his wife. “She makes the absolute best desserts. I guess that’s why I’m a little more like Santa.”

“If that makes me Mrs. Claus, then I’m all for it.” She said, going up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss.

The triplets rolled their eyes in unison, making Patton giggle. Trevor leaned over to them. “They do this all the time and it’s so gross.”

“ _ I _ think it’s sweet.” Tanya said. “But it is a bit gross.”

“Oh, hush.” Juliet walked over, grabbing a knife from Emile and slicing up the cake. “You’ll feel the same way when you’re older about a lucky guy.”

“Or girl.” Brad added on. “Or person. Whoever you end up with is going to be lucky to have you.”

“What if I want to be a cat lady?” Tanya asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Then we’ll love you just the same.”

Emile couldn’t help himself. “Awww, that’s sweet. And it’s great that you’re so accepting. Our last place we lived in wasn’t as...accommodating.”

Juliet’s happy smile vanished. “There’s still a few people in town who aren’t as open minded, but for the most part, the whole town is working on our acceptance. More and more of our kids are finding labels that fit them, so a lot of us are making an effort.”

“That’s very kind of you.” Despite Emile’s smile, there was a sadness in his eyes.

Brad and Juliet didn’t press the issue, instead enjoying the rest of the cake. When it was gone, they gathered up the cake pan and the kids.

“Thank you for all the help.”

Brad waved a hand in the air. “It was no problem at all.”

“Did you need the triplets to help your boys to the bus stop in the morning?” Juliet asked, hovering in the entryway.

Virgil’s eyes shot wide. Emile caught the look, giving him a squeeze on the shoulder. “That won’t be necessary, I’ll be taking the boys to school. It’s on my way to the office anyway.”

“No worries!” Juliet waved as she headed out the door after her kids. Brad followed right after, leaving the three of them in a now mostly unpacked, silent house.

Virgil immediately headed up to his room, mumbling something about ‘too much interaction’. Emile let him go, knowing that he needed a cool down before talking to anyone else for a while. Patton headed upstairs as well, hoping to unpack more of his stuff.

Looking at their empty fridge, Emile decided to take a trip to the grocery store. He popped his head upstairs to tell the boys were he was going before heading off.

With a general list of what he needed, as he was mostly getting the basics, he managed to power through the store. Just as he got to the checkout line, a man in a leather jacket stepped in front of him, throwing his items on the counter.

Emile bit his lip to keep from saying anything. After all, he didn’t know anyone but his neighbors. For all he knew, this guy was having a bad day, or maybe one of his kids was sick and he needed to get home quickly.

As the man gathered up his groceries, he finally looked at Emile. “Thanks for letting me cut babes.”

Flushing bright red, Emile was left speechless as the man left the store.


	2. First Week of School

The next morning should’ve been absolute chaos, but it went surprisingly smooth. Emile woke first, getting ready for the day before heading downstairs to make breakfast for the boys. Patton was the next to rise, jumping in the shower as Virgil came downstairs to eat. The two switched places when Patton was done.

Once everyone was ready to go, the three of them made sure they had everything before jumping in the car.

“Are you guys excited for your first day?”

Virgil shrank in his seat. “You mean our first day in the middle of the school year? When we know absolutely no one and we’re the freaky new kids?”

“V, it’s okay.” Patton reached over and squeezed his hand. “We have a few classes together, and since we’re new we’ll probably sit together. And we share the same lunch.”

“I’ve talked to the principal over email.” Emile glanced at his sons in the back. “He seems like a very nice man. When I mentioned your anxiety disorder he said that he’d let the teachers know.”

Shrinking even further, Virgil threw his hoodie up. After a moment, he bolted upright. “What if they make me take my hood down?”

“They won’t, I made sure of it.” Emile said, his voice stern. “And if any of the teachers give you trouble for it, I want you to tell Mr. Sanders at the earliest opportunity. He understands that it helps you feel less anxious, even if it’s only a little bit.”

They pulled up to the school. There were kids pouring in from the buses, as well as the parking lot. Patton looked excited, but Virgil looked like he’d rather be anywhere else.

“I believe in you.” Emile smiled at him in the mirror.

Steeling his shoulders, Virgil got out of the car. He hunched over immediately, glancing at Patton who was still in the car.

“I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Patton just caught Emile’s nod as he got out of the car. Once the boys were at a safe distance from the curb, he drove off, waving in the mirror.

“We should go find our lockers.” Virgil mumbled, fidgeting with the strings of his hoodie.

The two of them fell into step as they headed down the hallway. A few people turned to look at them, but for the most part people kept to themselves.

The whispers were what worried Virgil. Especially when he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

_ They’re talking about you. _

_ They think you’re a freak. _

_ You’re not going to fit in here no matter how hard you try. _

Luckily, Patton had noticed as soon as Virgil started to sink into his thoughts. He bumped their shoulders together, getting Virgil’s attention.

“What’s your first class?”

Virgil pulled out his schedule. He scanned the first column, glad that the school had been kind enough to give them a map along with their schedules. Not that the building was very big anyway.

“Um...Physical Science.”

“I’ll run into you as you leave then.” Patton said, putting his schedule up to Virgil’s. “I have that one second hour. You’ll have to warn me if there’s a pop quiz.”

Virgil couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Definitely. And you’ll have to warn me about any in English.”

“Of course.”

They reached their lockers, which were side by side, and quickly dumped what they wouldn’t need until after lunch.

“I can walk you to science if you want.” Patton offered.

Virgil shook his head. “I can’t be the freak that needs his brother to walk him to his classes.”

“V…”

“I’ll be okay. Promise.”

Virgil held out his pinky. Patton took it and they shook.

“See you in Algebra!” Patton said as he headed off.

Virgil turned around, heading in the opposite direction. It took him about two minutes to find the science hallway. He walked down the hall, checking the room numbers against his schedule, double checking when he found the right room.

He walked in, heading up to the teacher’s desk immediately. Mrs. Calypso glanced up as he approached, giving him a genuine smile.

“Virgil, right?” She said, keeping her voice low. “I’m Mrs. Calypso. Tho - Principal Sanders talked to me about your anxiety, so I won’t be introducing you to the class.”

Reaching into a drawer, she pulled out a textbook. There was a toucan emblazoned on the cover. “This is our textbook. You guys actually came in at a really good time, most of us are starting new sections today. I don’t think Le - Mr. Anderson is starting anything new, but volleyball is pretty easy to pick up.”

“Thank you.” Virgil took the textbook from her. He shifted his weight. “Um...where should I sit?”

“Oh! Right.” She glanced at a sheet of paper in front of her. “Logan sits by himself, you could join him.”

She pointed to a small boy with perfectly styled red hair. His glasses were a lot different than Patton’s. Patton preferred round glasses, but this boy seemed to prefer the square ones. It made him look smart and slightly intimidating.

As Virgil approached, Logan looked up from his book. “Hello. My name is Logan.”

“Mrs. Calypso told me.” Virgil said, wanting to mentally smack himself immediately. “I’m Virgil.”

Logan nodded, glancing at the clock above Virgil’s head. “I suggest you skim over the chapter. It’ll help you be able to answer Mrs. Calypso’s questions faster.”

“Cool.”

Virgil pulled out his notebook, folder, and a pencil before dropping his backpack at his feet. He started going over the first few paragraphs of the chapter, interrupted when the bell rang.

“Alright, class, if you’d open your books to chapter eight, we can get started.”

Virgil’s first few classes went by fairly quickly. Mrs. Calypso was extremely nice. A few times he’d panicked, thinking she was going to call on him, but she called on Logan instead. He was obviously the smartest kid in the class, something Virgil was grateful for.

When science had ended, Logan had given him a smile before heading out. Virgil bumped into Patton on the way to English, letting him know there wasn’t a pop quiz and getting a giggle in response.

Mx. Stokes was just as cool as Mrs. Calypso was nice. They had a huge non-binary flag up on the wall, informed Virgil of their pronouns right away, and had handed him a small Shakespeare anthology.

“We’re working our way through Hamlet right now.” They’d said as they handed the book over. “If you know the Lion King, you’re good.”

Virgil was glad he wasn’t picked on to read any of the lines, knowing he’d mess it up. Instead he gave his opinion on what a few of the pieces of foreshadowing were, earning a smile and nod from Mx. Stokes in the process.

By the time he reached math, he was a lot calmer. None of the students seemed to really care that there were some new kids, ignoring him since he was ignoring them.

“You look happy.” Patton said once Virgil had sat down next to him.

Mr. Lockwood shut the door as soon as the bell rang. One unlucky student showed up a few seconds later, opening the door and slinking to their desk.

“We have a few new students today.” He gestured to Virgil and Patton. Virgil immediately started sinking in his seat. “Virgil and Patton Picani. You can get to know them on your own time. Our new unit today is polynomials.”

There were a few groans from the class.

“Yes, yes, I know, math sucks. It’s still my job to teach you and get you to understand the material by any means necessary.” After a moment of silence, he pulled out a remote. “And today’s means are a video.”

The class cheered as the projector was turned on, starting to warm up.

After one more class without Patton, since he’d opted for Spanish and Patton had opted for ASL, they met at their lockers.

“ASL is so much fun!” He gushed as they dumped their morning books and grabbed their stuff for the afternoon. “Our teacher, Talyn, shows us videos while we do the signs. It’s so much easier to figure it out that way!”

“That’s really cool, Pat.” Virgil slipped his backpack straps over his shoulders as they walked to the lunchroom.

Since the school was small, the lunchroom was too. Virgil was relieved to find out that it wasn’t the giant, two-story area he was thinking of. High School Musical wasn’t the  _ best _ depiction of high school, but it was all he knew.

They moved through the line, grabbing some rubbery looking pizza, a fruit cup, and a sugar cookie.

“This looks nasty.” Virgil said as they sat at an empty table in the corner. “I’m definitely packing a lunch the rest of the year.”

“It might not be that bad!” Patton took a bite of the pizza. “The pizza is okay. No Little Caesar’s, but it’s...edible.”

The two of them choked down their lunches. By the time they were finished, the cafeteria was mostly cleared out. Following the few students left, Patton and Virgil found that most of the students headed off to wherever they wanted to, using their spare lunch time as a little bit of a free period.

Virgil glanced at the kids before starting to shuffle down the hall. “I’m gonna get my stuff and head to History.”

“Okay!” Patton started walking with him. “I’m gonna head to the gym. Mr. Anderson should probably know how clumsy I am before he decides where I’m going on the volleyball court.”

“You’re not  _ that _ clumsy.”

The two of them burst into giggles at Virgil’s claim. Patton was known for tripping over the slightest thing. Sometimes that included his own feet. But Virgil and their dad never made him feel bad about it, telling Patton that it simply added to his charm.

Once they’d gathered their stuff from their lockers, the two of them went their separate ways once more. Virgil headed off to history with Mr. Foote, and Patton headed to the gym.

There were a few students already over there, heading into the locker room. Patton went into the gym first, hoping to talk to Mr. Anderson before class started.

“Woah, you need your uniform tod -” Mr. Anderson stopped himself. “I apologize, you must be one of the new students. Let me see...Patton?”

“That’s me!” Patton said, giving him a smile. “I wanted to warn you before class started. I’m really clumsy.”

“Even the clumsiest among us can be great athletes.” Mr. Anderson looked up, marking a few students off on his clipboard. “Don’t worry, Patton, I’m here to make sure no one gets hurt, whether it be intentional or an accident. And when I can’t prevent that, Nurse Britches does an excellent job at patching people up.”

Patton giggled, leaving Mr. Anderson to talk to the students who had just walked in. He quickly changed into his uniform and tennis shoes, throwing the rest of his stuff in his gym locker.

“You’re new.”

Green eyes looked up at Patton from the nearest bench. The boy was tying his shoes, the red accents matching his bandana perfectly.

“I’m Patton.”

The boy stood, flicking his hair out of his eyes. “Roman.”

“I thought we had to wear the uniform.” Patton said as they headed out of the locker room.

Roman shot him a mischievous grin. “If you check the handbook, the rules say we have to wear the uniform. It doesn’t say anything about us not being able to add anything to it. Though once Principal Sanders figures that out, he’ll probably fix it for next year.”

Patton let out a giggle. “I mean, you’re still following the rules.”

“Technically, yeah.”

They filed into the gym with the rest of the class. Mr. Anderson, who insisted Patton call him Coach Leo, split them up into teams before letting them loose.

Patton was lucky enough to be on Roman’s team. “I’m pretty clumsy, so…”

“Everyone gets a turn in each spot.” Roman said, nudging him into the back center. “Of course, that’s if the other team can hit the ball back over. I’m the best server in the class.”

Class flew by, with Roman scoring point after point. Once he’d fully decimated the other team, Coach Leo called out a rule that servers could only score five points in a row, and then the team had to rotate.

“Doesn’t matter, we’ll still win.” Roman mumbled under his breath.

And he was right. Their team was the winner at the end of class, with no losses on their record.

“Tomorrow we’ll work on some of the basics again.” Coach Leo said as the bell rang.

Roman and Patton headed to the locker room to change back into their normal clothes.

“So where did you sit at lunch today?” Roman asked, pulling his shirt over his head.

“Over in the corner with my twin.”

“You have a twin?!” Roman practically shrieked.

No one gave them a second glance, telling Patton that he must do this a lot. “Mhmm. His name is Virgil.”

“Well, I cannot  _ wait _ to meet your twin tomorrow.” When he noticed Patton’s confused look, Roman continued. “You two have to sit with me and my friends. And my brother.”

“Your brother isn’t your friend?”

Roman waved a hand in the air. “Kinda sorta. I gotta run to English, see you later!”

By the time the day was over, Patton was loaded down with homework. He was happy to see Virgil when he reached his locker to get all the books he’d need.

“Why is there so much to do?!” Virgil asked as he packed practically all of their textbooks into his backpack. The zipper refused to go up all the way, so he just left it open a crack.

Patton shrugged. “Because we came in during the middle of the year?”

“Nah, it’s just because everyone started a new section on the same day.” Tanya told them as she walked up. Her bubblegum snapped as she popped a bubble. “It’s not normally like that.”

“I guess we’re just lucky.” Hoisting up his backpack, Virgil slung it over one shoulder. “We should go find Dad.”

Patton nodded before turning to Tanya. “Did you need a ride home?”

“Nah, I take the bus.” Tanya adjusted her backpack. “Gives me some time with my friends. But I’ll see you guys later.”

“Bye!”

The Picanis headed out of the double doors, finding their dad waiting a little down the block. As soon as they got in, he gave them a huge smile.

“How was school?”

Virgil and Patton looked at each other. Virgil waved his hand and Patton started talking first.

“It was a lot of fun, even though we have a lot of homework. I met a lot of people and I made a new friend! His name is Roman, he’s in my gym class. Oh! And my ASL teacher is super cool. They show us videos to learn the signs and it makes it a lot easier. Um...I think that’s it.”

“I’m glad you made a friend! He’ll have to come over sometime soon so I can meet him.” Emile switched his gaze to his other son in the rearview mirror. “Virgil? How’d it go?”

“It went alright. My English teacher is really cool. We’re doing Hamlet, which they told me is just like the Lion King. And I think I made a friend? He’s in my science class and we sit together. He doesn’t talk a lot unless he’s answering a question.”

“What’s his name?”

“Logan. And he’s short, so I think he might have skipped a grade or something, but I didn’t want to ask him.” As he finished his sentence, Virgil flipped up his hood, putting in his headphones.

The next day at lunch, Patton dragged Virgil over to where Roman was sitting. Virgil noticed Logan sitting at the emptier end of the table, eyes moving over a book in front of him as he ate.

“The name’s Roman.” Roman said to Virgil, who responded with a half smile and a wave. Waving his hand down the table, Roman introduced everyone else. “That’s Alex, Quil, and Nessa. The one at the end who’s ignoring everyone is my brother, Logan.”

“Logan’s your brother?” Virgil asked.

Logan finally looked up when he heard Virgil’s voice. “Sadly.”

“Hey!”

“If you want some semblance of peace and quiet, I’d suggest you join the loner end of the table.” Logan continued, ignoring his brother’s shout of protest.

Virgil immediately moved across from Logan, hearing Roman grumble under his breath. Patton easily distracted him with a question, leaving Virgil and Logan to themselves.

“How are you two related?” Virgil asked as he watched Roman talk with his hands.

Logan flipped a page in his book. “We’re not. By blood, I mean. I was adopted.”

“Oh.” Virgil bit his lip, not sure what to say. “Um, that’s cool.”

“It would be if my father and brother weren’t such lunatics.”

The only thing tipping Virgil off that Logan was joking was the tiniest twitch in the corner of his mouth. Once Virgil started laughing, Logan did too.

“Oh my god, he laughs.” Roman teased from the other end of the table, earning himself a rude gesture from Logan.

That, combined with the offended gasp from Roman and a scolding from Patton, made Virgil laugh even harder. Tears started streaming down his face as he continued, unable to stop for a good minute or so.

The rest of the week became routine. Patton and Virgil ate at Roman and Logan’s table every single day. The four of them became fairly good friends by the end of the week.

Good enough friends for Roman to come in on Friday, excitement sparkling in his eyes, and say, “My dad said you guys could sleep over tonight.”

Ice spread through Virgil’s veins at the thought. He stammered out some sort of excuse before taking off, leaving his lunchbox behind.

“Was it something I said?” Roman asked as he stared at were Virgil had been.

Patton quickly got up, grabbing Virgil’s lunchbox. “He - it’s - I’ll text you later and explain, okay? I don’t want to say something he doesn’t want me to say.”

Roman simply nodded as Patton took off to go find his brother.


	3. Dinner

Patton found Virgil outside, hidden against the wall behind a few bushes. He didn’t say a word, just sitting next to his brother and tapping his toes in a 4-7-8 rhythm on the ground. He waited, knowing it was better to let Virgil talk first.

“I do want to sleep over.” Virgil said, his voice sounding a little rough. “But there’s so many what ifs, and...I don’t want to chicken out. Not like last time.”

“I don’t think Roman or Logan would care if you chickened out.” Patton said, squeezing his brother’s hand. “They aren’t like...they aren’t like the kids at our old school.”

“You don’t know that.”

Patton took in a deep breath, hearing Virgil do the same. “I don’t. But what I do know is that they’re certainly a lot nicer than those kids. And that’s already a big improvement.”

“Yeah.”

The two sat in silence for a moment, the gears turning in Patton’s head. A lightbulb went off and he jumped to his feet. “I know! What if we have dinner at their place first? We can even bring Dad, I’m sure he’d want to meet their dad. And then you can see what their house is like.”

“That’s a really good idea.” Standing up, Virgil stretched. Patton winced at the pops that came from his spine. “I should probably go tell them why I took off like I did.”

“No need.”

Virgil jumped at the voice, moving behind Patton instinctively.

Roman bit his lip. “Sorry. But you don’t need to explain. Not if you don’t want to.”

“How much of that did you hear?” Virgil asked, a slight edge to his voice.

“Just the last bit, about you telling us.” Logan said. “I have a few theories, but any of them could be correct.”

“I have anxiety!” Virgil blurted out, closing his eyes. He braced himself for the teasing that would follow.

“Theory number one then.”

Virgil opened his eyes to see Roman push his hair back. “If you’re too anxious to spend the night, we get it. Especially with everything that’s changed recently for you guys. New house, new school, new friends.”

“You...you’re not going to make fun of me?” Virgil asked, mentally cursing himself when he heard the waver in his voice.

Logan blinked at him. “Why would we do that? Anxiety disorders are coming out more and more in today’s teenagers because of various stressors. You’re certainly not the only one to have anxiety in the school.”

Virgil bit back a laugh. Logan definitely didn’t do comfort like Patton, but he did it in his own way. And knowing the facts - that he wasn’t alone - really did help.

“Do you think maybe instead of a sleepover, we can do dinner instead?” Patton asked. “It would help Virgil if he’d at least been to your house before.”

Before Patton was fully done speaking, Roman already had his phone out and was texting. “Dad should be fine with - okay, he already texted me back. He’s cool with it.”

“Can we bring our dad?” Virgil bit his lip. “If that’s not okay -”

**Ding!** “Dad says it’s okay.”

“Great!”

The bell rang and the four of them headed off to their classes. Roman and Patton walked off together, heading for the gym.

“How long has he had anxiety?” Roman kept his voice low. He knew that it was a sensitive topic and he didn’t want anyone else to hear and go bully Virgil. Not that he would let that happen.

Patton sighed as they walked. “Ever since we were kids. It was hard for Dad when we were growing up. Virgil has always been timid. And Dad had to send us to daycare when we were little, so you can imagine how stressful it was for him. And middle school was...hard.”

Roman looked at Patton, hoping he’d elaborate. But Patton’s lips remained zipped tight on what might have happened during their middle school years.

Putting a hand on Patton’s shoulder, Roman gave him a smile. “Nobody will bully him here. Not if I can help it.”

“Thanks, Ro.”

The nickname through Roman off guard for a moment, but he recovered quickly enough. “Ro. I like that.”

Soon enough, school was over. The twins headed home, waving to the Sanders’ as they got into their dad’s car.

“I’m glad you made friends.” Emile said, also waving at the boys.

Virgil nudged Patton, looking toward the front seat. “Dad! Ro and Logan invited us to a sleepover tonight, but Virgil was anxious about it, so instead we’re having dinner at their house and you’re invited.”

“Okay, let me see if I heard you right.” Emile said after Patton stopped to breathe. “Your friends invited you to their house for a sleepover. Virgil panicked because he doesn’t know them very well. Now you’re having dinner instead and I’m going too?”

“Yep!”

“Alright!” Emile laughed. “That’s for the best, I didn’t exactly have a dinner plan.”

As soon as they got home, Virgil darted up to his room. Patton exchanged a glance with Emile before following.

“V?”

Virgil was tearing through his closet, throwing most of his clothes on the floor. “What do I wear to this? I want their dad to like me, what if he doesn’t like me?”

Patton put a hand on Virgil’s back, putting just enough pressure. “Virgil, take a deep breath for me.”

Virgil did as Patton asked, Patton feeling his body move as he breathed in and out.

“I know you want to make a good impression, but you also want to be you.” Patton explained, pulling a black hoodie off a hanger and handing it over. “Wear what you would normally wear. If their dad is anything like them, he’ll like you for you.”

Virgil nodded, slipping his hoodie on. “You’re right.”

“I know.”

Rolling his eyes, Virgil started shoving Patton out of his room. Laughing, Patton took the hint and left, letting Virgil shut and lock the door behind him.

At five thirty on the dot, the Picanis pulled into the Sanders’ driveway. Virgil was half hiding in his hoodie, his headphones slid down around his neck. Patton tapped him on the shoulder and crossed his eyes, getting a laugh out of the darker twin.

Emile headed up the porch and knocked on the door. After a moment, the door opened and Emile let out a gasp.

“You! I saw you at the grocery store a few days ago.”

Flipping up his sunglasses, Mr. Sanders smirked. “Oh yeah. You’re the one who let me in front of you.”

“ _ Let _ \- nevermind.” Emile held out his hand, hearing his boys walk up behind him. “I’m Emile Picani, and these are my sons Virgil and Patton.”

“Remy. This is Roman and that’s Logan.” Remy said, pointing to each son. A loud beeping started in the kitchen, causing him to curse and dart off.

Patton and Emile gasped at the language. Virgil brushed past them into the house, heading off with Logan to see his room.

“Oh! Yeah, Pat come see  _ my _ room!” Roman grabbed Patton’s hand and dragged him down the hall.

Emile followed to where Remy had disappeared, listening to the smoke alarm and following the incessant beeping. While Remy grabbed something out of the oven, Emile opened up a window and turned on the stove hood.

“Thanks.” Remy said, dropping the tray on trivet.

Emile wasn’t quite sure what was on the tray at first. He couldn’t really see it through the smoke. Waving his hand and the smoke away, he was able to see that it was a pizza. Or, what was meant to be a pizza.

“Shit.”

“You shouldn’t use that language around your kids.” Emile said, biting his tongue immediately. “Sorry, I shouldn’t tell you how to parent.”

“You shouldn’t.” There was no malice in Remy’s voice, but there was a flash of something in his eyes. “Two things, Babes. They’re not in the room, and I’m sure they hear that language at school anyway. You can’t smother them.”

“I don’t -” Emile started to snap, before he took a deep breath. “Nevermind.”

Leaning against the counter, Remy pulled out his phone. “Guess we’re ordering pizza instead. Any qualms about that?”

Emile bit his tongue. There was something about this guy that got under his skin, but he was going to be the bigger man and not rise to the bait.

The smirk on Remy’s face revealed that he knew exactly what he was doing. “Do you know your kids favorite types of pizza?”

“Pepperoni and sausage.”

“Got it.” Remy waited for a moment before Emile heard someone answer the phone. “Hey Nellie, it’s Rem. Yeah, our usual plus one pepperoni and one sausage. Send Gerald if you can, he hasn’t seen the boys for a while. Thanks, Babes. Bye.”

“They know you well I assume?” Emile gestured to the no longer smoking husk of a pizza on the counter.

“I may not be able to cook, but I do try.” Remy slid his phone into his back pocket, leaning his arms on the island. “Let me guess, Mr. Perfect, you can cook any recipe you lay your eyes on and it always turns out well?”

“Wow, you guys are getting along great.”

The dads jumped at the voice, turning to find all of their kids standing in the entry to the kitchen. Logan stood in the front, raising an eyebrow. Virgil was practically plastered to Patton’s back, worry clear in his eyes.

“Why don’t you guys set up a movie in the living room?” Remy asked, looking at Logan. “Em and I are going to talk through this.”

“Dad’s great at that! He’s a therapist.” Patton chimed in, before he was whisked away with the other boys.

“A therapist.”

Emile let out a sigh. “Okay, it’s clear that our parenting styles are very different. But we shouldn’t allow that to get in the way of our kids being friends.”

“Agreed.” Remy glanced at the doorway for a second, before dropping his voice. “Virgil looked really upset. What’s going on there?”

“He has really bad anxiety.” Emile rubbed at his eyes, allowing his mask to drop for a moment. “He’s terrified to take meds for it so the poor kid just lives with it.”

“Crunch ‘em up, throw them in his food.” The horrified look Emile gave him had Remy backtracking immediately. “Right. Different styles. Uh, maybe explain how it would be good for him? He’s probably freaked out about the bad things they’ll do to him.”

Before Emile could respond, there was a chorus of “DAD!” from the living room. They laughed before heading to their kids.

Once the movie was turned on, Emile couldn’t help but notice how their kids interacted with each other. Roman and Virgil quietly bickered over the meanings of The Little Mermaid. Patton kept them from fighting too much. And Logan backed up both sides of the argument with facts.

By the end of the movie, Virgil was sitting by himself in an armchair, done with physical touch for the day. Patton was used to it and left him alone. But even though Roman and Logan didn’t know much about Virgil’s problems, they let him be.

As the credits rolled, Virgil and Patton headed out to the car. Roman and Logan cleaned up the kitchen, leaving the adults in the foyer.

“They’re so good with each other.” Emile said as he slipped on his shoes.

“It’s the first time in a while that Logan has brought home a friend.” Remy said, watching his boys clean up from where he was standing. “One that he actually likes.”

Emile stood, holding out a hand. “We need to be civil. For them.”

Remy shook his hand. “Agreed.”


	4. Sleepover

After they had dinner together, the Picanis and the Sanders became inseparable. Logan and Virgil combined their brains in science, earning one of the highest scores in the lab. Mrs. Calypso praised them highly, making the two of them grin at each other.

Roman worked with Patton after school a few days a week. He quickly realized that Patton was more motivated when it came to friends instead of teachers. It wasn’t long before Patton was able to set Roman up for a spike in gym class.

Their friendship grew quickly over the course of a month. It was as though the four of them had known each other their whole lives - like they’d been meant to meet.

Once Roman noticed that Virgil was completely comfortable with them, and at their house, he brought up the idea of a sleepover again.

“Would you be comfortable having a sleepover on Friday?” He asked on Tuesday at lunch. He wanted to give Virgil enough time to get used to the idea, but not so much time that he’d feel anxious about it. He and Logan had talked, agreeing that Tuesday was the perfect day to ask.

Virgil swirled a carrot in his container of ranch, thinking. After a moment, he nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

“And if you want to cancel at any point, just let us know.” Logan informed him as Roman texted their dad. “We get it.”

Virgil’s smile was small, but it was real this time. “Thank you.”

By the time it reached Friday, Virgil was ready for the sleepover. Not only that, but he was excited.

“Call me if you want me to pick you back up.” Emile was saying as they drove over to the Sanders’s house. “And I know Re - Mr. Sanders allows swears in the house, but our rules still apply.”

“We know, Dad.”

They pulled into the driveway, each of the boys grabbing their duffle bag before heading inside. Emile waved at Remy, who’d answered the door, before heading back home.

“You can put your stuff down here!” Roman waved his hand at a spot beside the couch. “Dad said we can sleep in the living room tonight.”

“Don’t you do that most nights?” Logan teased, earning a pillow to the shoulder.

Before the four of them could enter a pillow war, Remy ushered them into the kitchen. “Now, I know I’m not the best cook, but I do make some damn good tacos.”

The kitchen island had been transformed into a taco bar. There were so many toppings to choose from - cheese, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sour cream. Patton jumped in the line behind Logan and Roman, filling his tacos up to the brim.

Virgil moved at a slower pace, only putting a few things on his taco. He knew what he liked, and he wasn’t willing to try anything new here.

He half expected for Mr. Sanders to make fun of him. But he was surprised to find that their tacos were exactly the same.

“Why mess with a good thing?” Mr. Sanders gave him a smile before digging in.

When they finished dinner, the five of them cleaned up the kitchen. Once the surfaces were gleaming, the boys headed into the living room to pick out a video game to play.

In the middle of their Smash tournament, Mr. Sanders started walking in and out, bringing all sorts of snacks to the coffee table. Popcorn, Twizzlers, M&Ms, and even chips with dip.

“What’s all this for?” Patton asked, trying to hide his excitement at the growing pile of sweets.

Remy caught the look in his eye. “This is sleepover food.”

“We don’t really eat a lot of sugar.” Virgil said, performing a combo move on Roman and ending the game.

“It’s okay to indulge sometimes.” Remy scooped out a handful of M&Ms. “You just need to be careful. Now, boys, what are the sleepover rules?”

“There are no rules!”

“Perfect. I’ll be binging Umbrella Academy in my bedroom if you need me.” Waving at the boys, Remy headed off down the hall. “Have fun!”

“It’s getting late.” Logan pointed to his FitBit. “We should make a blanket fort now or we’ll get too tired.”

Virgil shot a grin at his friend. “Oh, we’re great at those.”

Virgil and Logan took over structure duty, while Roman and Patton worked on making it comfortable. They raided the hall closet, as well as grabbing all the blankets from Logan and Roman’s rooms, gathering up around twelve blankets.

When they were finished, they had a blanket fort that spanned the better part of the living room. There was enough lift for a fan to blow some air through, as well as lots of pillows to lay on.

“Let’s watch a movie.”

Letting Roman pick the movie, Virgil snuck off to his duffel. When he was sure no one was looking, he pulled his purple dragon beanie baby out. He crawled back to the group, the dragon loosely wrapped in the blanket he was using.

The four of them laid back in the nest of pillows, making themselves comfortable. About halfway through the movie, Virgil could feel his eyelids getting heavy. He spread his blanket over himself and snuggled in, ready to fall asleep.

“Aww, who’s this little guy?”

Opening his eyes, Virgil froze. Roman was holding Dragon up, looking over the group. “Who does he belong to? He’s not one of ours.”

Losing his ability to speak, Virgil snatched Dragon from Roman’s arms. He could feel himself slipping into a panic attack, tapping on Patton’s arm.

Patton moved in front of him in an instant. “It’s okay. Breathe in for four, hold for seven, out for eight.”

Patton repeated the phrase over and over until Virgil had sufficiently calmed down. Tears were pouring down his cheeks and he could feel the heat emanating from his face.

He turned to find Roman looking at him. He expected to see teasing or even anger in his eyes, but that’s not what he found. Instead, Roman was looking at him with concern and worry.

“I like your dragon.” He said quietly, as Virgil hugged the stuffed animal close to his chest. For a moment he looked unsure of what to say, but Virgil saw when the lightbulb went off in his head. “Stay here!”

Roman scrambled out of their blanket fort. Virgil’s chest seized.

_ He’s leaving, he’s leavinghe’slea _ -

Logan appeared in his vision. “Roman will be right back. He’s excited and forgot to tell you where he was going.”

Thumps on the carpet alerted the three of them that Roman was coming back. He rolled under the blankets, holding a bunch of stuffed animals in his arms.

“This is Alex, like from Madagascar.” He said, holding up a lion Beanie Baby. “And this is Lady, Beast, Oliver, Bianca, and Pua.”

Roman gently pushed Virgil back into the pillows, piling the stuffed animals on him. “I know some people think it’s silly to sleep with stuffed animals, but Toy Story had an effect on a lot of us.”

Virgil laughed at that, snuggling himself deeper into the blankets. “Thanks, Ro.”

The other three carefully turned off the TV and ducked under their own blankets. Within the next hour, all of them had fallen into a deep sleep.

Remy emerged from his room once he realized he wasn’t hearing anything. Peeking under the blanket fort, he couldn’t help but smile. He made sure his flash was off before snapping a picture and sending it to Emile.

**Remy: [image file]**

**The Therapist: Oh they’re so cute!**

Remy crawled back out, locked all the doors, and headed to bed.


	5. The F

After their sleepover, the tight knit group of friends grew even closer.

But they still didn’t tell each other everything. None of them knew that Patton was starting to struggle with his grades. He had an A in ASL, but his other grades were slowly starting to slip.

“Is there something going on at home?” Mrs. Calypso asked after she’d pulled him aside after school one day. “If it’s about the move, that’s okay. Transitioning to a new place can take a long time.”

“I don’t think that’s it.” Patton said, eyes glued to the ground as he struggled not to cry. “I just...I’m not understanding.”

“Why don’t you talk to Principal Sanders?” She asked, crouching just enough to see Patton’s eyes. “He can get you a tutor.”

Patton shoved his glasses up in his hair so he could wipe his eyes. “I don’t need a tutor.”

“If you want, I can try to explain a few concepts after school tomorrow.” She offered. “Think about it, okay?”

As soon as Mrs. Calypso was gone, Virgil rushed over. “Is everything alright?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Patton said, voice trembling ever so slightly. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Virgil opened his arms and Patton dove into them, squeezing him tightly. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.”

There was only a moment’s hesitation before Patton blurted out, “I’m not doing very well in class. I don’t understand what the teachers are talking about half the time and it’s hard for me to learn from just the Powerpoints.”

“Maybe I can help?” Virgil asked, waving at their dad as he pulled up.

“We can try.”

Once they’d gotten home and had a quick snack, the two of them jumped into their homework. Virgil did his best to explain the concepts, but Patton wasn’t understanding them at all. Emile jumped in to help as well, but he just made it worse.

“I don’t get it!” Patton shoved back from the kitchen table, darting up to his room and closing the door.

Emile and Virgil could hear his sobs carry down the stairs.

Neither of them saw Patton again until the next morning when he came downstairs for breakfast. He looked a little more like Virgil this morning with the dark circles under his eyes. Virgil covered them with black eyeshadow so he could call it fashion, but Patton didn’t seem to care.

“Pat, are you okay?” Virgil asked, handing his brother a plate.

Patton took the plate, setting it off to the side. “I’m not hungry.”

“Just take some food with you then, in case you get hungry later.” Emile started packing up some tupperware.

Patton nodded, the usual pep in his step completely gone. By the time they arrived at school, he had a fake smile on his face.

“Bye.”

“Have a good day!” Emile called, just getting the sentence out of his mouth before Patton’s door closed.

Virgil scrambled to catch up to Patton, who was heading straight for his locker. “I can talk to Mrs. Calypso if you want.”

“She already offered to help.” Unzipping his backpack, Patton started placing books in his locker. “I’m gonna take her up on it and stay after school. Is that okay?”

“Pat, it’s fine.” Virgil bumped their shoulders together. “I’m going straight home anyway.”

Giving his twin a nod, Patton headed off to class. Virgil put the rest of his stuff in his locker, jumping when someone practically appeared next to him.

“What’s wrong with Patton?” Ted asked as he leaned against the lockers. “He just seems...off.”

“Bad day.”

“Gotcha.” A few kids down the hall called Ted’s name. “I’ve gotta go, but I’ll let my mom know that Patton’s having a hard time. She’ll be over later with muffins or something.”

“Thanks, man.”

“No prob. Besides, what are neighbors for if not to be nosy?”

Ted left to be with his friends. Virgil grabbed what he needed, before heading to science. He debated talking to Mrs. Calypso about Patton’s problem, but he knew that Patton would want to talk to her himself.

Instead, he took his seat next to Logan and pulled out their homework.

“I saw you arrive this morning.” Logan tapped his pencil on the table. “Patton looked upset.”

“There’s a whole thing.” Virgil started scribbling down a few notes on the board. “If he wants to tell you about it at lunch he can.”

Virgil was beyond thankful that Logan let the matter drop. Part of it was due to the fact that the bell rang and class started, but Logan seemed like the type to let things be. He could only hope that Roman was the same way.

He quickly found out at lunch that he was wrong.

“Pat, are you okay?” Roman asked the second he sat down, making Virgil and Logan exchange looks. “You looked really upset this morning.”

Patton seemed to sense that Virgil was about to fix Roman with a glare. He waved Virgil down, shaking his head. “I’ve just been...struggling a bit. Academically.”

Logan’s eyes snapped up. “I could assist you if you’d like.”

“Lo, that’s nice but I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You don’t have to ask.” Logan stuck a bookmark in his book and set it down. “We’re friends. Why wouldn’t I want to help you achieve academic prowess?”

“Have you been reading the dictionary again?”

There was a thunk as Logan kicked his brother under the table. “I can help you tonight if you want.”

“Sure!”

Virgil was a little more than relieved to see a little of Patton’s pep return. “I thought you were staying after with Mrs. Calypso?”

Patton shrugged, twirling some pasta around his fork. “I think I’d understand it more coming from a fellow student. But I’ll let her know before I head to gym.”

When the final bell had rung, Patton headed outside, looking for Logan. His red hair stood out like a beacon in the sea of students rushing to head home.

“Where’s Roman?”

“Heading to a friend’s house.” Logan toward the line of cars. “My dad’s here.”

Mr. Sanders waved from his convertible, shades on his face. The boys jumped in the car, buckling up immediately.

Patton just stopped himself from letting out a shriek as Mr. Sanders peeled off from the line of cars, earning a few honks in the process. He ignored them, stretching one arm above his head.

“How was school?” He asked, sounding too nonchalant for someone who was weaving their way through traffic.

“I received an A on my paper for English.”

“Knew you would.” Though he couldn’t see Mr. Sanders’s eyes, he could feel the gaze moving to him. “Pat? What about you?”

“Okay, I guess.” Patton ran a finger along his seatbelt. “My ASL teacher says I’ve been improving a lot.”

Remy smiled at Patton in the mirror. “That’s great! Gotta celebrate the little accomplishments as much as the big ones.”

They got home much faster than they should’ve, heading in through the garage. Remy left them to their devices, heading into the living room.

Logan headed to the fridge immediately, pulling out some apples and a fruit dip. “Snack first. It’s harder to do homework if you’re hungry. I did a small study on that, using Roman as a subject.”

“Did he know you were doing that?” Patton grabbed a spoon out of the drawer and started spooning some dip onto a couple paper plates.

“...no.”

“Logan!”

“It was a small experiment!”

Patton shook his head, giving him what everyone had dubbed his ‘Dad Look’. “Consent is important for a lot of things. One thing being experiments.”

“You’re right.” Logan scraped a few apple slices onto Patton’s plate. “I’ll inform him about any future experiments that involve him.”

“And?”

“And I’ll let him know about the past experiments I’ve used him for.” Logan swirled an apple in the fruit dip before taking a bite. “This dip is so freaking good.”

“I’ve got a homemade one that tastes even better.”

Logan’s eyes widened. “You’re making that next time you come over.”

“Deal.” Patton reached into his backpack, pulling out his science textbook. “So I just can’t understand the nervous system or how the brain works.”

Taking their plates, Logan tossed them in the garbage. “Let’s get to work.”

The two of them worked hard for the next hour.

Unfortunately, Patton  _ still _ wasn’t understanding, and Logan was starting to get frustrated.

“It’s simple, really.” Logan said at the end of another long explanation.

Patton bit his lip. “I still don’t get it.”

“Why don’t we take a break?” 

Logan did his best to not let his frustration show, but Patton could see it clear as day.

“I’m sorry.”

His voice cracked on the words. Logan looked at him, eyes wide. Before he could say anything, the front door opened and Roman entered.

“Oh, hey Pa- what’s wrong?”

Tears slipped out of Patton’s eyes. “I don’t get what we’re doing still, and I know Logan’s frustrated that he can’t help me, and I just...I don’t wanna fail.”

“I could show you how I figured it out.”

Logan face palmed. “How did I not think of that before? You and Roman are much more like minded. I’m sure he’ll be able to explain everything in a way that makes sense to you.”

Seeing how apprehensive was, Roman swooped in next to him. “Let me try at least? And if you don’t get it, I’ll come with you to talk to Mrs. Calypso.”

“Okay.”

Roman was a much more suitable teacher to Patton than Logan had been. He knew that while Logan and Virgil tended to think more logically, he and Patton thought more creatively.

“The dendrites?” Roman asked an hour later, quizzing Patton on what he’d learned.

Patton wiggled his fingers, remembering what Roman had told him. “Branches of the nerve cells. They give messages to the cell body.”

“Correct!”

After writing down the answer on his worksheet, Patton grinned at Roman. “Thank you so much!”

“There’s the smile we know and love.” Roman smiled back, suddenly finding himself with an armful of Patton. “You staying for dinner?”

“I could, let me text my dad.”

“No worries, he already said it was okay.” Mr. Sanders said as he walked into the kitchen. “We’re making sandwiches tonight, but I have peanut butter and jelly if you’d prefer that.”

“I’m good with whatever.”

Patton gathered his schoolwork. He put it away while the Sanders started pulling various ingredients out of the fridge. There was crinkling as Roman popped open a bag of chips.

“Where’s your brother tonight?” Mr. Sanders asked, slicing open some rolls.

“At home with dad.”

Mr. Sanders pulled out his phone. “Emile! Why don’t you come over and have dinner with us again. We’ve already got a third of your family anyway. We’re having club sandwiches.”

Patton couldn’t make out what his dad was saying on the other end, but it must’ve been agreement.

“They’ll be here in just a little bit.” Mr. Sanders slid his phone back into his pocket. “Pat, are you good at slicing?”

“I’ll do it!” Roman said quickly, taking the knife from his dad.

“Roman, that was rude.”

Patton laughed. “Roman’s seen me in gym class. It’s probably safer that he does it.”

“You’ve gotten a lot better though.” Roman effortly sliced through the tomato as he spoke. “When you first got here, you were...not  _ hopeless _ but it took some work.And now you’re one of the best in the class. A little hard work goes a long way.”

“Well, I think this calls for a celebration.” Remy said.

The Sanders boys snapped their heads up. “Sundaes?!”

“Sundaes.”

A cheer rang out from everyone, including Patton. He didn’t know what was so special about sundaes, but he loved ice cream.

It wasn’t long before Emile was over with Virgil in tow. Or rather, Virgil with Emile in tow. Virgil ran straight into the house, talking to Roman about a new Disney movie that had been announced in the last hour.

Emile was a little slower, still unsure about Remy.

“You know, Roman helped Patton figure out what was troubling him.” Remy said as he came over to help Emile with his jacket.

“Oh, thank goodness.” Emile handed over his jacket, lining up his shoes in the hall. “Patton fretted over that all night. Virgil and I did our best to help.”

“So you  _ were  _ hanging over their shoulders?”

Emile sighed. “Remy -”

“Please, let me explain.” Receiving a nod from Emile, Remy continued. “I know that you’re more of a hover-y parent and I’m more of a give them space parent. I think we have a lot to learn from each other. One example being that you should’ve let them try to figure it out on their own. Patton probably felt a lot of pressure to figure it out knowing that you were in the room.”

Emile opened his mouth to respond before closing it with a click.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Yes.” Emile ran a hand through his hair. “And you’re right about us learning from each other. Though that goes both ways.”

“Yes, sir.” Remy teased before they both headed back into the kitchen.

The boys grabbed their food and headed to the living room, sitting around the coffee table.

“About time our dads got along.” Roman said, taking a huge bite of his sandwich.

Patton nodded. “All of us are different, but we figured it out.”

“Ya.” Getting a look from Logan, Roman swallowed his food before he continued. “Virgil and I are super opposite. If you hadn’t played mediator at first Pat, we probably would’ve been fighting this whole time.”

Virgil nodded. “True that.”

Remy leaned out of the kitchen, peeking in on the boys. “I’m glad they found each other. For a while I was worried that Logan was never going to have any friends besides Roman.”

“Virgil said that Logan is a big help.” Emile leaned against the counter. “He told me that Logan did a bunch of research on anxiety disorders so that he knew what to do if Virgil had an attack.”

“Oh yeah, he was letting me and Roman know what to do too. Kid’s a natural born teacher.”

Emile crunched down on a chip. “You listened?”

“Hey! I know I seem like an asshole, but that’s only sometimes.” Remy grabbed a few glasses out of the cupboard. “Want anything?”

“Water’s fine.”

The ice clinked into their cups. “I figured if your kid is going to be over a lot that I should know what to do too. In case he stays back when Roman wants to head to the park or something.”

“That’s...really nice of you.” Emile took his glass. “Thanks. A lot of parents in our old PTA didn’t seem to care that Virgil had anxiety.”

There was a flash of anger in Remy’s eyes. “Well that’s shitty of them.”

“Yeah.” Emile excused the swearing this one time. “It is.”


	6. The Play

“Virgil! Patton!”

The twins looked up from their lunches, seeing Roman heading toward them at full speed. Logan had opted to walk instead, lingering behind his brother.

“What’s up?” They asked in unison.

“I hate that you guys can do that.” Roman said, before waving around a packet of paper. “Remember that play I was talking about a few weeks ago? I tried out and got the lead!!”

“That’s amazing!” Patton threw himself into Roman’s arms, hugging him tightly. “I’m so proud of you.”

Virgil gave him a fist bump. “Good job, man. You’ve been working really hard on that monologue they gave you.”

Logan gave them an exhausted look. “At least now that he’s in the play, he’ll have someone other than me to practice with.”

“Aw, c’mon Lo. You were a good partner.”

“Just because I remembered the lines doesn’t mean I performed them well.” Logan took his seat at their lunch table, the others following suit. “I’d appreciate if you used someone else in the future.”

Patton glanced up from peeling his orange. “I’d be happy to help!”

“I can’t wait for you guys to see it!” Roman handed out his Gushers, trading them for Virgil’s Nutty Bar. “And hopefully in the spring I get a part in the musical and you guys can come see that too!”

“We’d be happy to!”

Over the next few months, Roman spent most of his time after school at play practice. Logan saw him every night when he got home, but the twins only saw him if they were at the Sanders’s for dinner. Which was more often than not, but they still missed their friend.

It only got worse during tech week. Roman was at rehearsal past dinnertime, often dragging himself through the door around eight. He’d quickly do whatever homework he had before going to bed, completely exhausted.

When the big day finally came, Roman was finally able to come home right after school.

“What is this stranger doing in my house?” Remy asked as Roman and Logan walked in the door. “I haven’t seen this boy in weeks.”

“Oh, shut up.” Roman slid his backpack off. He twisted, cracking his spine. “I have to be back by five but I figured I’d actually eat something here before I head out. Gas station food is good on occasion, but not every single day for two months.”

“You picked Leftover Night to eat at home?” Logan let out a laugh. “I think we have some bacon in the fridge, lasagna, and some pizza rolls.”

“Honestly, anything is better than eating a burger or a wrapped sandwich at this point.”

Despite it being so early, Remy pulled out the leftovers from the fridge. “So, Roman, are you excited? Nervous?”

“A bit of both.” Looking over his choices, Roman grabbed the pizza rolls and dumped them onto a plate. “We’ve been working really hard and I’m excited for everyone to see it. But I’m worried that I’m going to forget my lines or a cue or something.”

“I’ve known you most of my life and I highly doubt that you’re going to make a mistake.” Logan said. “If anything, one of your fellow actors will be the one to mess up.”

“...and now I’m worried about that.”

Remy threw an arm around his son’s shoulders. “The only thing you can do is your best.”

The microwave beeped and Roman pulled his food out. Logan steered the conversation away from the play, hoping to distract Roman from his worries. It seemed to work, as Roman went on a rant about how Mr. Lockwood claimed he was doing his math wrong.

Soon enough it was 4:30. A horn honked outside and Roman darted to his feet, grabbing everything he needed.

“I’ll see you guys there!” He called out as he left the house, the door slamming shut behind him.

Logan headed up to his room to work on some homework until it was time to go. He’d set about 10 alarms on his dad’s phone to make sure that he wouldn’t fall asleep or forget.

Despite the alarms, he came downstairs to find his dad asleep on the couch.

With a sigh, he headed over and shook Remy’s arm. “Dad.”

“Mmm.”

“Dad, come on, get up.”

Remy rolled over into the couch, pressing his face against the cushions. “Mmm.”

“We’re going to miss Roman’s play if you don’t get up.”

Shooting up, Remy grabbed his sunglasses before they could get launched off his face. “SHIT!”

A horn honked outside. Logan headed to the window, moving the curtain to find the Picanis parked in the driveway. Patton had leaned over the center console to wave through the windshield.

Logan held up one finger before dropping the curtain. “That’s our ride.”

“What do you -”

“I asked Patton if his dad could drive us because I knew you’d forget.” Logan opened the closet, grabbing his shoes. “Now hurry up or we won’t get decent seats.”

“Called out by my own kid, I can’t believe it.” Remy grumbled as he quickly threw his shoes on, grabbing his wallet and keys on the way.

Logan rolled his eyes, but there was a smile on his face. “I’ll be in the car.”

“I’m not that slow.” Remy caught the door before it could close, following his son outside.

Patton slid into the middle of the backseat, allowing Logan to climb in and get buckled up. Remy jumped in the passenger seat.

“Let’s ride.”

Emile raised an eyebrow. “Seatbelt.”

“Oh, right.”

Once everyone was buckled in, Emile pulled out of their driveway and headed to the school.

The parking lot was only about a quarter of the way full when they pulled in. The boys jumped out of the backseat to get in line and get tickets while Emile parked.

“You could’ve gone with them.” Emile told Remy as he found a decent spot.

Remy waved a hand. “They don’t want to be babysat by an adult. Besides, it’s not like they’re going to get kidnapped at a high school play.”

“Wouldn’t this be an ample opportunity to kidnap a child? There’s plenty here.” Emile pulled his keys out of the ignition and slid out of the car. He reached into the backseat, pulling out two bouquets of flowers.

Remy walked around behind, nearly being hit by a car looking for a spot. He held up a choice finger. “Asshole!”

“Maybe you should get out of the road?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Remy moved to the sidewalk, spotting the flowers in Emile’s hands. “F-fudge! I forgot to -”

Emile handed over one of the bouquets. “I thought you might forget.”

“Em, you are a lifesaver.”

The two of them headed inside, spotting their kids toward the front of the line. Virgil pulled out his phone. A moment later Emile’s phone buzzed.

**Virgil: We’ll grab seats.**

**Emile: Thank yo!**

**Emile: *you**

Virgil gave him a thumbs up before the boys headed into the theater.

“How do you think Roman’s feeling?” Emile asked as they slowly moved through the line.

Remy shrugged. “He said he’s both excited and nervous. It’s probably just pre-show jitters. The kid has some raw talent for acting.”

“Have you told him that?”

“Don’t go all therapist on me now.” The teasing tone was clear in Remy’s voice. “But yeah, I’ve let him know. That’s the one thing I’m pretty consistent at. I didn’t get much praise growing up, so I figured that they deserved to hear it.”

Trying to hide his smile, Emile said, “Sounds like you’re opening up to a therapist.”

Before Remy could respond, they were at the front of the line. A person wearing an orange beanie looked up at them. “How many tickets?”

“Two please.”

Emile reached for his wallet, but Remy was already handing over a few bills. “Keep the rest. Consider it a donation.”

“Thanks, dude.” They took the money, handing over two tickets. “You can sit anywhere in the auditorium as long as there isn’t someone else in that seat.”

“You didn’t have to pay.” Emile said as they walked in.

Remy gave him a look. “You got an extra bouquet. It’s the least I could do.”

Glancing around, they spotted Patton waving and headed over to their kids.

“If you don’t want to sit with your parents -”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Patton cut Remy off, before flushing. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Remy shook his head. “All good.”

“I guess that makes us the cool dads.” Emile said as they sat down.

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Don’t push it.”

The five of them chatted idly until the lights overhead were dimmed and brightened again. People that were still standing quickly moved to their seats. A few minutes passed before the person in the orange beanie headed up onstage with a microphone.

“I’m pleased to announce that we are sold out tonight!” They said. The audience let out a loud cheer. “I’d like to thank you all. With the money we raise, we’re able to put on our spectacular productions, as well as take our students on some field trips. With the extra that we received from selling out, we’ll be able to get a new stage for next year.”

The audience began to applaud. After a moment, the person held up their hand and everyone quieted down. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Joan Stokes. I teach English here as well as run the drama department with our principal, Thomas Sanders. He’s somewhere backstage making sure no one is dying.”

A ripple of laughter made its way through the audience.

“Which means it’s my pleasure to introduce our play! Thank for your coming and we hope you enjoy  _ Clue _ .”

As soon as they were off the stage, the curtain opened.

The five of them were silent as the show went on, watching as Roman nailed his lines. There was a brief issue with one of the backdrops, but the show continued without a hitch.

When it ended, the entire audience leapt to their feet, clapping and whistling. The applause only increased when Roman and the leading lady came out for their bows.

Once the curtain closed, everyone started making their way back to the front lobby. By the time the Picanis and Sanders managed to get out, the lobby was full of people, making it hard to find Roman in the crowd.

Instead, he found them.

“What did you think?” He asked as he darted through people effortlessly. His eyes lit up as they landed on the flowers. “Are those for me?”

“Yes!” Remy and Emile handed the flowers over. Remy shot Emile a grateful look over the kid’s heads.

“You did fantastic!” Patton started gushing over Roman’s performance, Virgil adding in a comment here and there.

Logan gave his brother a smile when they were finished. “You did great.”

“Thanks, nerd.” Roman teased, throwing an arm over Logan’s shoulders.

Remy huddled the group together, keeping his voice down. “Now, I think we should get out of here so we can grab some ice cream before the crowd.”

Roman nodded, bouncing on his toes. “I just have to put my costume back in the dressing room and then we can go.”

“What about the makeup?”

“I can take it off in the car!” Roman shouted as he sprinted back down the hall.

Twenty minutes later, all of them were sitting in a booth at Leon’s Parlor. They’d managed to beat the crowd and had grabbed the best spot to sit. As they talked, the parlor began to fill up.

After a while, Virgil asked, “What made you want to do the play anyway?”

Roman shrugged. “I thought it would be fun. And I wanted to get involved with an extracurricular. Logan says that they look good on college applications.”

Logan nodded.

“And I wanted to do something that I liked, you know? I did an acting class for summer school and I thought it was super fun, so I thought I’d give it a shot.”

Virgil stared at him. “How can you just...do things?”

“It helps that I don’t have anxiety.” Roman pointed out, digging his spoon into the last of his ice cream. “Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith.”

“I can’t  _ do _ that though.”

Roman nodded, looking sorry for Virgil. “Sometimes it helps to have a friend. Are there any clubs you wanted to join? One of us could go to the first meeting with you.”

“Not at the moment, but I’ll let you guys know?”

“Of course!”

As everyone finished up their ice cream, they left a tip on the table and headed out. As soon as they stepped foot on the asphalt, Patton heard a sniffle.

He turned just in time to see Logan break down, sobbing. Darting over, he held open his arms. Logan dove into them, burying his face into Patton’s cardigan.

Roman started to head over, but Virgil grabbed his arm and shook his head. “We shouldn’t crowd him.”

The two of them stood nearby, listening. If anyone tried to see what was going on, their glares sent them on their way.

“Logan, what’s wrong?” Remy asked as he came over, kneeling next to Patton. Emile knelt on Patton’s other side, eyes wide with concern.

Letting go of Patton, Logan moved to his dad’s lap. “I just...Roman did so good in the play and he’s so talented. I - I’m not good at anything except for school. That’s not - I’m not going to be able to get a job because of that! I need to be good at something else...anything else…”

Remy wrapped his arms around Logan, glancing at Emile over his head. He had no clue what to say, and he really didn’t want to make the situation worse.

Patton caught their look, getting up to go stand with Virgil instead.

Emile slid over, reaching out and rubbing circles onto Logan’s back. “Logan, how much time do you spend on homework?”

“Approximately half an hour per class that assigns homework.”

“So when you have homework in all of your classes, that’s about two and a half hours?”

Logan nodded, the tears finally slowing enough that he pulled his face from Remy’s shirt. “Mhmm.”

“How much time do you spend doing something you  _ like  _ to do?”

There was a moment of hesitation. “I - I’m unsure.”

“It’s not good to overwork yourself.” Emile said, continuing to rub Logan’s back. “You have to make time to do things that you enjoy.”

“I don’t know what I like.” Logan admitted. His face, which was already red from crying, grew even redder.

Emile and Remy exchanged another look. “I could help you figure it out.”

“You can?”

“Why don’t you come over tomorrow? We can look at a list of clubs the school offers and figure out if any of them speak to you.”

Scrubbing his face with his sweater sleeve, Logan nodded. “Okay.”

“Ro, can you start the car?” Remy asked, tossing his keys.

Roman caught them, gathering up his brother and heading toward the car. Virgil and Patton hesitated until Emile nodded.

Once the kids were gone, Remy got to his feet, pulling Emile up as well. “Thank you. I have a feeling I would’ve made it worse.”

“We need to learn from each other, remember?” Emile teased, flashing him a smile. “Now let’s get out of here before you get run over for real.”


	7. Spring

The winter came and went. The kids exchanged gifts with each other just before school ended for break. The Sanders flew to New York to have Christmas with Roman’s birthmom, while the Picanis stayed in town, opting to celebrate the holidays in their new home.

Soon enough, the snow was melting and spring sports and clubs were starting.

“DAD!” Roman screeched as he burst through the door one afternoon, clutching a few papers in his hands.

Logan, Virgil, and Patton were right behind him, carefully taking off their shoes and lining them up on the rug.

“I was taking a nap.” Remy grumbled as Roman dragged him into the living room.

“You’re always napping! And I have news!”

“Good or bad news?” Patton asked as they filed in and sat on the couch.

Roman grinned at him. “Amazing news!”

Once they were all settled on the couch, Roman flipped the paper in his hands around. “We’re doing Into the Woods for the spring musical!!”

“...what is it about?”

A gasp fell from Roman’s mouth at Virgil’s question. “You mean - you haven’t seen it?!”

Virgil shook his head, a small smile on his face. “I’m not really a musical guy, Ro.”

“You watch Disney movies!”

“That’s the exception!”

Roman heaved a dramatic sigh. “Into the Woods is about some of the classic fairy tales. Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel. But it’s kinda dark, which is why I’d assumed you’d seen it, you _ heathen _.”

Virgil stuck his tongue out at him. “Then why don’t you show it to me, _ ass- _”

“Virgil!”

“Dad’s not even here and Mr. Sanders doesn’t care.”

Remy tapped the top of Virgil’s head with a finger. “Hey. Do as I say, not as I do.”

“Are you gonna join anything, Mr. Emo?” Roman teased, earning a pillow to the face.

As Roman sputtered, Virgil shrugged. “I don’t know. I gotta check.”

“Let us know when the meeting is and we’ll join you.” Logan said from the other end of the couch. Virgil gave him a thumbs up. “As for myself, I’m going to join the astronomy club. Remind me to thank your dad for helping me out with that.”

“I can tell you right now that he’d say it was no problem.” Patton gave Logan a smile, which he returned. “I think I wanna join cooking club.”

“Dad, you should join cooking club.” Another pillow hit Roman in the face, causing him to sputter.

Virgil and Remy high-fived each other before Remy turned to his son. “Just because you’re right doesn’t mean you should say it.”

“Virgil, perhaps you should try a sport.” Logan cut in, hoping to stop the rain of pillows. Roman gave him an appreciative look. “It might help get rid of some of your nervous energy. Obviously it won’t get rid of all of it, but it certainly would help with some of it. In addition to that, it would keep you physically healthy, which could assist with your mental health.”

Virgil couldn’t help but smile. “Lo, did you do research for me?”

“Of course I did. You’re my friend.” Ignoring the chorus of ‘awws’ from the other people in the room, the loudest coming from Patton, Logan turned to his brother. “Please tell me I won’t be your rehearsal buddy.”

“Nah, you’re off the hook. Patton already offered, remember?”

Patton nodded. “I don’t mind doing lines with you. There’s always some waiting time in cooking!”

As the two started discussing what song and monologue Roman would use to audition, Logan moved over to Virgil’s side. He had the school website pulled up on his phone to the spring sports page.

“Is there anything that appeals to you?”

Virgil scanned the list. He wasn’t the biggest fan of anything that could get him seriously injured - which took out baseball and lacrosse. Tennis and volleyball were out too, considering he tended to duck things coming at him rather than hit them back. Which left two things.

“Swimming and track seem okay.” He said, pointing them out on the list. “I’m not a very strong swimmer though, so I guess track?”

“You do seem to have a powerful fight or flight reflex.” Virgil could practically hear the gears turning in Logan’s head as he spoke. “That would account for some speed, though it would likely only do that when your response is activated…”

Remy coughed, getting his son’s attention. “You are not scaring Virgil before the track meets to get him to run faster.”

“It was just an observation!”

“Logan, most of your observations lead to hypotheses, which then lead to experiments.” Remy got off the couch, heading out of the room. “No experiments on siblings or friends.”

Pouting, Logan settled deeper into the couch. “Fine.”

After the four of them had figured out which meetings they wanted to go to, they parted ways.

Logan started to head to his room, stopped immediately by Roman.

“And just where are you going?”

“To do my homework.”

Roman got up, grabbing Logan’s wrist before he could run. “Nope, you’re going to do it out here. That way you can help me if I need it, and I can keep an eye on you. Mr. Picani told you not to overwork yourself, remember?”

“Yes, but -”

“Emile’s a smart guy, you should listen to him.”

The boys looked up as Remy re-entered the room, grabbing a blanket off the couch. Logan raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you two didn’t get along?”

“We’re making an effort.” Was the response that came over Remy’s shoulder before he disappeared again.

“I won’t be able to focus if you start singing Disney songs.” Logan said, slowly trying to pull himself free from Roman’s grasp.

The grip only tightened. “Then I won’t sing them. And we’ll be using the Pomodoro Technique so that you have to take breaks.”

“You know the Pomodoro Technique?”

Roman rolled his eyes, dragging his brother over to the coffee table. “Of course, that’s how I study. Do you really think I can pay attention to anything for longer than twenty minutes?”

“That doesn’t seem to be an issue for movies.” Logan teased, earning a nudge from his brother.

“Whatever, nerd. Just study.”

True to his word, Roman forced Logan to take breaks when the timer went off. After four bouts of studying, they broke to eat some dinner.

“Normally we’d go back to studying now, but I’m not counting dinner as a break.” Roman told him after they’d cleaned up. “Stay here, I got something at the library for you.”

“Roman, you know I don’t enjoy fantasy novels!”

“Just wait!”

Logan sighed. He was glad that Roman had thought of him enough to get him a library book, but he knew his brother’s taste. Roman tended to only read high fantasy while Logan preferred the mystery novels. Particularly ones that he could figure out before the big twist was revealed.

It was a shock when Roman bounded back down the stairs, an astronomy book in his hands. He held it out to Logan, grinning at the surprise on his brother’s face. “You said you wanted to join the Astronomy Club. I figured you’d like to know some things before the first meeting.”

“Thank you.” Logan took the book from Roman’s hands, immediately shuffling through the pages.

The next day at lunch, Logan was telling them all about what he’d learned from the book.

“Did you know our sun is technically considered a Dwarf star?”

As Logan rambled on about Dwarf, Giant, and Supergiant stars to Virgil, Patton couldn’t help but smile. He whispered to Roman, “It was a really good idea for you to get that book for him. Dad said that he wasn’t sure about Astronomy Club at first, but he seems like he’s going to love it now.”

“I asked the librarian for the biggest book on stars they had.” Roman popped a few grapes into his mouth. “They had to go get a stepstool to get it down from the highest shelf.”

Laughing, they tuned back into the other conversation.

“So, the spring sports meetings are today...one of you will go with me to the track meeting, right?”

“I’m free.”

“As am I.”

“Me too!”

Virgil shifted in his seat. “You don’t all have to go if you don’t want to.”

“Why not? It would be informative.” Logan said, glancing at the other two.

Roman shrugged. “I can check out the hot track guys.”

“We gotta ride home together anyway, silly!” Patton flashed his brother a smile.

Relaxing, Virgil let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Thanks guys.”

Once the bell rang they all headed off to their next classes, promising to meet up after school on the front steps.

Virgil ended up getting their first, having speed walked out of his last class. He leaned against the railing, doing his best to keep his cool. But he couldn’t help his anxiety bubbling up, making his thoughts swirl.

Thankfully, both Logan and Patton had anticipated this, showing up at the same time. Roman wasn’t too far behind them, completing their group of four.

“Where’s the meeting?” Logan asked.

Virgil’s eyes flew wide. “Oh my god I never figured out where the meeting was.”

As the other two immediately started reassuring Virgil and trying to calm him down, Roman pulled a sheet of paper out of his backpack. “This says it’s in the gym with Coach Leo.”

“Where did you even get that?”

Roman shrugged. “I like knowing what’s going on at school.”

Now that Virgil was much calmer, the four of them headed to the gym. There were a few other sports meetings in there, grouped up around the room. There were only a few kids there for track, Ted being one of them. He waved as they joined him.

“Are all of you going out for track?”

Roman shook his head. “I like exercise, but sports aren’t really my thing.”

“I’d just trip over all the hurdles.”

Logan simply shook his head.

“I’m the only one of us joining.” Virgil said.

Ted gave him a smile. “Cool. Maybe we can carpool to meets and stuff.”

“Good to see you boys!” Coach Leo said, making Virgil jump. “Who’s joining the team.”

Virgil raised his hand, his voice failing him for a moment. “I am, sir - Coach.”

“We’re glad to have you on the team.”

“Don’t I have to try out?” Virgil looked completely confused.

Coach Leo laughed, before bending down to their level. “Yes, you do. But I’ve seen you in gym class. You’re a fast kid, I have no doubts that you’ll make the team with ease. And if you don’t make the team, you can always help me out if you want.”

Shockingly, Virgil realized that he wasn’t very anxious with Coach Leo. Something about him exuded an air of safety. He gave him a rare grin. “That’d be awesome.”

They stayed for the meeting, hearing all the boring details and the more fun ones. Virgil was a little nervous that he’d have to take the bus to away meets, but Ted was quick to reassure him that they could sit together.

“Tryouts will be this Saturday from 9-3. Come when you can and we’ll get you set up.”

With that, Coach Leo started handing out the packets for the students to take home. Virgil was one of the first to receive one, getting a wink from the coach before he moved on.

The four of them headed back to the front of the school, where their parents were going to pick them up.

“No one else has any meetings today?” Logan asked, pulling out his phone. He gently took a sheet from Virgil, adding in the dates of the home track meets.

Roman shook his head. “Auditions aren’t for a few weeks.”

“The cooking club meeting is tomorrow.”

“As is the astronomy meeting.” Logan handed the sheet back to Virgil. “Roman, did you know when the shows were for -”

“April 24th and 25th.”

There was an eye roll from Logan, mostly to hide his small smile.

As the four of them exited the double doors, they saw Emile and Remy talking in the pick up area.

Waving a hand toward them, Roman asked, “Who wants to bet they’re fighting?”

“I’m sure they’re not -” Patton started saying, immediately stopping once they were within earshot.

“I’m not saying anyone _ needs _ therapy, I’m just saying it helps a lot of people.”

“I’m not one for dumping my issues on someone else.”

“Dad!” Patton called out, getting their attention. “Virgil has something for you to sign.”

Remy waved to Emile as Roman and Logan got in the car. “See ya, babes.”

“Yes, goodbye, Remy.”

Virgil and Patton exchanged a glance. Something had to be done about those two, they just didn’t know what.


	8. Auditions

A few weeks passed, and it was the week of auditions. Logan had eagerly joined the astronomy club, making a few other friends. Patton had joined the cooking club, becoming a favorite of Mrs. Calypso with ease. She’d given him a recipe to try at home, with permission from his father, of course.

Which lead him to now. He was working on mixing his ingredients in a bowl, listening to Roman do his monologue.

“If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.” Roman finished, before doing a little bow. “How was that?”

“That was amazing, Ro!” Patton squealed, putting the mixing bowl down and running over to hug him. “You’re definitely going to get a part!”

“Yeah, not bad, Roman.” Virgil said as he walked in from the entryway.

Roman whirled around. “When did you get here?”

“Just now. I heard the last bit.” Grabbing his water bottle, Virgil chugged a good portion of it. When it was empty, he unscrewed the cap and put it in the sink. “Pat’s right, there’s no way they won’t give you a part.”

“I’m glad you guys think so.”

The twins turned toward him in sync. Patton was the first to break the short silence. “Do you not think you’ll get a part?”

“I know I  _ want _ a part, but that doesn’t mean that I’ll get one.” Roman’s shoulders were starting to droop. “What if there’s enough people better than me? I know there’s a ton of leads in the cast, but that doesn’t guarantee me a part, you know? And if I do get a lead, there might be some seniors that get mad that they didn’t get a part.”

Virgil sat on the stool next to him. “Roman, you’ve never cared what people think of you. Why start now?”

“What?”

“You’re one of the most outgoing people I’ve met in my entire life.” Virgil explained, turning to fully face him. “I’m a little jealous that you’re brave enough to just go for things, no matter what the outcome might be. You were in the play and did amazing. I’m sure Mx. Stokes and Principal Sanders are going to remember that. Just go up there and do your best.”

Glancing up, Virgil caught his dad hovering in the doorway. Emile smiled and gave Virgil a thumbs up before heading down the hall and out of sight.

“Can I hug you?” Roman asked, already halfway off the stool.

With a sigh, Virgil opened up his arms, hugging Roman back with force.

“Thank you.” Roman said once they pulled apart from each other. “Now go take a shower, you smell.”

The temptation to show Roman a choice finger was there, but Virgil caught the look Patton was giving him from across the island. Instead, he lightly stepped on Roman’s toes as he left the room, not bothering to hide his laughter when he heard Roman’s dramatics from down the hall.

Once the day of auditions rolled around, Roman was exceptionally nervous.

“It’s normal to be nervous for something like this.” Virgil said as they ate lunch. “Just let the nerves melt away when you get onstage and you’ll be good.”

“What if they don’t melt away?”

Virgil whacked him with his fruit by the foot. “Stop being so anxious, that’s my role in this friend group.”

When Roman started laughing, they were all relieved to see some of the tension melt from him.

Once the final bell had rung, Virgil headed to track practice. Auditions weren’t until four, which gave some of the students time to head home and eat if they needed to.

“Coach Leo?” He asked as he walked onto the track.

The coach looked up from his clipboard with a smile. “Virgil! How is my track star?”

Virgil flushed at the nickname. “Alright. Um, there’s auditions today and I was hoping to go for moral support.”

Coach Leo nodded. “No worries. We’re having a short practice today, with plenty of time for you guys to hit the showers before auditions. There’s plenty of kids here that do track and act, so we do our best to work the schedules out.”

“Oh, that’s awesome! Thanks.”

Once practice was over, and they had info about their first meet that weekend, the team headed for the locker room.

Virgil quickly realized he hadn’t showered in here yet, and he really didn’t want to. But if he didn’t shower, he risked smelling awful during auditions.

“Hey, V!” Ted’s voice cut through his thoughts. “I’m heading home to shower quickly and then coming back to watch Tanya’s audition. Need a ride?”

Thanking his lucky stars, Virgil nodded. “Yes, please.”

The two of them beelined for the front of the school, knowing they only had half an hour to be back before auditions started.

Mrs. Task was waiting in her van, a bit surprised when Virgil climbed in after Ted. “Oh! Virgil, good to see you.”

“Is it alright if Virgil rides with us?”

“Oh, of course!” Mrs. Task said, pulling out of the parking spot. Glancing up, she met Virgil’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Honey, anytime you need a ride, just find one of the triplets. It’s no trouble in the slightest.”

“Thank you.” Virgil picked at his backpack. “I haven’t showered there yet and I won’t if I can help it.”

Ted nodded, pulling a granola bar out of a side pocket and munching down. “Dude, I feel you. I’m not going to be the victim of a towel whipping.”

Soon enough, Mrs. Task pulled into her driveway. Virgil raced across the grass, giving a thumbs up as Ted said they’d be leaving in twenty minutes.

By four o’clock, he was entering the auditorium with Ted. Patton waved from where he and Logan were seated.

“Did you want to sit with us?” Virgil asked, waving in the direction of his brother.

Ted shook his head. “Nah. Thanks though.”

He headed off to find his own friends. Virgil took his seat next to Patton, jumping slightly when the lights were lowered and raised.

“Alright, we’ll be starting auditions here in two minutes.” Mx. Stokes said, a microphone easily carrying their voice across the buzzing auditorium. “First up is going to be Tanya Task.”

“Hell yeah!” Came Ted’s cry, earning a giggle through the audience.

Tanya was more than happy to go first. Once she got the signal from Principal Sanders, she launched into it. Patton gasped when he realized it was the speech from the end of Legally Blonde.

A few more people went, some doing well and others not. Roman was one of the last few people to go.

When he reached center stage, he glanced over at his friends. Virgil could see how nervous he was. Patton and Logan each gave him a thumbs up, but Virgil let out a loud whoop. Ted echoed it back from the other side and soon the audience was cheering.

With a huge smile on his face, Roman went through his monologue. He captivated the audience, the rise and fall of his voice perfectly matching the tone of the words.

As soon as he’d finished, there was an uproarious applause. Beaming, Roman gave a small bow and headed to his friends to watch the final few auditions.

After the final person finished, Mx. Stokes flicked the microphone on again. “We have a very talented bunch for this musical. Give yourselves a hand!”

Once the applause died down, they continued. “Thomas and I have our work cut out for us. We’ll take the weekend to go over your auditions and post the cast list on Monday before school. Thank you and have a great weekend!”

People started filing out of the auditorium, heading outside to get picked up by their parents.

**Ding!**

All four of their phones went off at the same time.

“Dad’s wondering if we can ask the Tasks for a ride home.” Patton read off the screen, squinting through his glasses. “He has a late client.”

“Our dad said to either walk or find a ride.”

Across town, Remy slipped his phone back into his pocket. He’d been meaning to give his sons a ride home, but it was taking him longer at the library than he’d expected.

Looking at the slip of paper in his hand, he headed to the 520s.

“Oh shit.” He mumbled, realizing there were a lot more books on astronomy than he’d thought.

Knowing he could only check out a limited number of books due to his lateness in the past, he grabbed the first four he saw and headed toward the front desk.

“Remy?” 

Emile Picani stood in the front area of the library, looking at the stack of books in his arms. “Do you need some help with those?”

“I guess I could use some help.”

Emile took the top two books off the stack, following Remy to the check out desk. The librarian took their books.

“Library card?”

Remy handed it over. “What are you doing here?”

“I had a late client, and then I decided to stop by and grab the boys and myself a few books. It’s supposed to storm all day on Sunday so I figured we could turn on the fireplace and read.”

“Sir? You have fines on this card.” The librarian said, holding it in the air. “I’m afraid I can’t allow you to check anything out until they’re paid.”

Remy sighed. “How much?”

“It totals to $30.43.”

“Crap.” Remy pulled out his wallet, finding no cash. “You can just put those back then, I’ll pay off the fines and come back for those later.”

“Are those astronomy books?” Emile asked, picking one of them up.

“Yeah, I was hoping to understand at least some of what Logan talks to me about.” Remy slid his wallet back in his pocket, grabbing his keys instead. “Roman’s been over at your place most of the time, so Logan doesn’t have anyone to talk to except for me.”

The sad look on Remy’s face tugged at Emile’s heartstrings. Before he could think he had his wallet out, handing two twenties over to the receptionist. “I’ll pay the fines.”

“Emile -”

“You’re just trying to understand your son. That’s admirable.” The librarian handed the change back to Emile, who put it away. “You can just pay me back later. Deal?”

“Deal.”


	9. Summer

The rest of the school year went by in a blur.

Instead of one of the leading roles in Into the Woods, Roman landed the part of Cinderella’s Prince. He didn’t seem to mind, flawlessly delivering his lines and belting out  _ Agony _ .

Virgil took the opportunity to tease, dubbing him Princey. Roman didn’t mind in the slightest and the nickname stuck.

Beating school records at his first meet, Virgil became the MVP of the track team. He was slightly suspicious that no one seemed to bug him about it. He had a feeling Ted Task was behind that, but he couldn’t prove it. (And Patton refused to tell him, but he’d caught Ted explaining Virgil’s more timid nature to the rest of the team.)

The Picani household constantly had delicious aromas floating out of it, thanks to Patton. He’d been working really hard in cooking club. The first few weeks, there had been some charred bricks thrown in the trash. But with his hard work and determination, he’d risen to the middle of the pack, which he was more than happy with.

Logan absolutely adored astronomy club. They always opened with any news from NASA and it was eye-opening to him to know that there was probably something out there.

When the end of the year rolled around, Logan was voted into the club’s secretary spot. He was ecstatic about this new development and vowed to do his absolute best.

The school year wrapped up mid June, releasing the children on a sunny afternoon. Everyone headed over to the Picani’s to take advantage of their pool.

“Thank goodness we befriended you guys.” Roman said as he sipped on his lemonade. Emile had allowed them to take drinks outside, as long as they were in plastic cups. “Otherwise we’d be lying in front of the air conditioner at home.”

“So you’re just using us? How dare you, Princey!” Virgil teased, nudging Roman’s floatie with his foot.

Unfortunately, Roman hadn’t been expecting the sudden shift. He flailed for a moment before flipping into the water.

The resulting splash soaked Patton and Logan, who were sitting on the edge of the pool.

“Hey!”

Taking his chance while Virgil was distracted, due to laughing so hard, Roman tugged on his ankles, dragging him into the pool. Virgil’s eyes flew wide as he went under the water. He came up coughing, sputtering, and shaking.

“Please don’t do that again.” There was a quiver to Virgil’s voice as he looked Roman in the eyes.

Immediately feeling terrible, Roman nodded. “I’m sorry, I won’t.”

Virgil climbed out of the pool. Patton followed him over to the towels, their voices too low for the Sanders brothers to make out their conversation.

Without taking his eyes off the twins, Logan said, “You just scared him, I think.”

Roman sank further, his chin dipping into the water. “I feel awful.”

“He’ll be okay.”

Patton came back over. Roman’s bad feelings got worse as he watched Virgil go in the house.

“We’re going to head in and dry off.” He shifted his weight, trying to think of what to say. “You can come in and play some games if you want, but V is done with the pool.”

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

Patton nodded. “Yeah, he’s just a little shaken. More bad memories.”

“I will slay the people who did this to him.” There was a dark edge in Roman’s voice.

Rolling his eyes, Logan headed into the house without another word. Patton and Roman were quick to follow, Roman being last due to being the least dry.

“Dad, when did you get here?” He asked as he walked into the Picani’s kitchen after getting dressed.

“I never left.” Remy said as he sipped on his glass of lemonade. “So, Emile, you were going on about the benefits of therapy?”

As they continued their boring conversation, Roman grabbed the pitcher and a stack of plastic cups, heading into the living room. Virgil was wrapped in a fluffy blanket, leaning into Patton’s side. Logan was flipping through Netflix, trying to find something for them to watch.

“Parks and Rec is always a good one.” Putting down the lemonade, Roman glanced at Virgil for approval.

“That’s fine.” He mumbled into Patton’s sweater, barely being heard.

Despite his worries that he’d ruined their friendship, by the end of the third episode Virgil was leaning heavily against his side. When Roman glanced over, he saw Virgil’s eyelids drooping. He exchanged an amused glance with Patton, shifting to get Virgil into a more comfortable position.

Virgil was out like a light in minutes, snoring softly into Roman’s shirt.

Something that Roman teased him about the a few weekends later, when the Picanis came over for a Fourth of July barbecue.

“I was exhausted and you make a nice pillow.”

The two of them continued their good natured bickering, making Logan and Patton shake their heads before moving out to the patio.

Remy glanced over when he heard the screen door. “Hey, Patton, you’re in cooking class right? Come here, I’ll show you how to use the grill.”

“Okay!”

Logan sat down with Emile at one of their deck tables, content to sit in the sun and sip on his lemonade.

“Where did your dad learn how to grill?”

Logan set his plastic cup on the white wood. “His mom taught him how. She’s an excellent cook. Last year she won a chili cookoff.”

Emile surprised himself by thinking how Patton could learn a lot from her. He shook the thought from his mind, glancing over toward Patton. He’d had thrown his head back, laughing at something Remy had said.

Remy caught Emile’s eye and threw him a wink. Emile felt his heart skip a beat in his chest and looked off toward the street, hoping to hide his blushing cheeks.

An action that was not unnoticed by a very observant child sitting across from him. Instead of saying something, he logged that information for later.

“Em, your kid is a natural!” Remy called out. “Probably even better than I am!”

“Nonsense! You’re the grill king!” Roman said as he and Virgil finally joined the others on the deck.

Virgil snorted, sitting next to his dad. “Looks like someone else is taking the title of prince.”

“How dare you! You in-insolent -”

Unable to keep up the facade, Roman devolved into a fit of giggles. He was quickly joined by Patton, which set off everyone else.

In no time, all of them had plates in front of them, digging into the delicious burgers Remy and Patton had made.

“Oh my goodness, Pat, you  _ are _ amazing at grilling.”

Virgil wiped some watermelon juice off his chin. “We should do this more often.”

Emile looked up, meeting Remy’s eyes. “I wouldn’t complain about having a get together every other weekend.”

He really hoped he wasn’t imagining the faint blush on Remy’s cheeks.

“Anytime.”

Once everyone was done eating, the kids headed in to the living room. As soon as they were settled in the house, Roman sat everyone on the couch and stood in front of them.

“We have to set up our parents.”

Patton nodded, eyes lighting up. “I know they fought a lot when we all first met, but they’ve been getting along so well!”

Virgil picked at his sleeves. “Dad seems a lot happier now, but I don’t know that he likes your dad? No offense.”

“Actually, evidence would suggest that Emile is, in fact, romantically attracted to our dad. I caught him blushing earlier after a compliment that Dad gave Patton. Not only that, but he had been eyeing Dad for a while before that, thinking I didn’t notice.” Logan adjusted his glasses. “I have no evidence for the other side, however.”

“I do. Remy asked an awful lot of questions about Dad when he was teaching me to grill.” There was a glint in Patton’s eye. “No one asks about someone’s love life if they’re not interested.”

“Yeah, Dad eye fffflirted with him the first time they met.” Ignoring the stern look on Patton’s face, Roman continued. “I was at the store with him, but I’d gone outside to buy some girl scout cookies. He’s been into Emile since day one.”

Hearing all the evidence, Virgil nodded. If nothing else, the two of them had some chemistry. “What’s your plan for getting them together?”

A grin split Roman’s face and he leaned forward, his next words barely above a whisper.

“Have you ever seen The Parent Trap?”


	10. Parent Trapped

Phase one of their plan was to get their parents to spend some more time together. They decided to have weekly sleepovers, since either father would come in and spend a little bit of time talking while the kids got set up.Since it was summer, there were a few times they managed to have a few a week.

“They might as well live over here.” Remy joked on one such occasion as he brought the boys in. Roman and Logan vanished almost immediately, heading into the living room to make their sleepover fort.

Emile waved a hand. “It’s not like we don’t have the room. And they get along so well, they’re practically family. Did you want some tea?”

“Did you buy more of that lavender one?”

The adults headed into the kitchen, unaware of the whispering happening in the living room.

“Dad hated that tea.” Virgil whispered as he and Roman stretched a blanket over the couch. “He only bought more because Remy likes it.”

“Our dad bought mint extract yesterday.” Logan said as he crawled underneath to set up the pillows. “I only know one person who likes mint in his hot chocolate.”

The four of them crawled inside, getting settled. Patton put his hand out, high-fiving everyone. “Sounds like our plan is working.”

Over the next few sleepovers, the dads starting staying over later and later. At one point, the two of them realized that the four boys had fallen asleep while they were talking. Emile had been a little embarrassed, excusing himself immediately and heading home. But not before Remy had offered for him to stay over as well, causing the therapist to turn bright red before he left the house.

Bimonthly barbecues also became a summer tradition.

“Em, why don’t you come over here so I can show  _ you _ how to grill?”

Cheeks ever so slightly pink, Emile left the boys at the table, moving to Remy’s side. “I’m a hopeless griller, that’s why I cook instead.”

“Come on, I can help you out.” Remy held out the spatula, smiling when Emile took it from his hand.

“How do you know when to flip them?” He asked, hovering over the grill.

“Sometimes you just know.” Remy said from behind Emile, making the shorter man shiver involuntarily. “And sometimes you have a timer set next to the grill.”

A laugh bubbled up out of Emile as he noticed the small electronic timer. “Oh.”

As it started to beep, Emile slid the spatula under a burger and flipped it. Unfortunately, the burger split in half and fell into the coals below.

“Here, let me…”

Remy grabbed Emile’s wrist, helping him through flipping the still usable burgers. When he was done he let go and restarted the timer, seemingly unaware of how his action had made Emile’s mind start reeling.

Near the end of the summer, Roman was struck with the absolute best idea he’d ever had. He waited until they were at their weekly sleepover to tell the others.

Once their fort was made, he dragged the rest of them inside. Patton knew Roman’s idea face, and squirmed a little while Roman made sure that their dads were still talking in the kitchen.

“Okay, I had the best idea in the universe last night.” He started, looking at each of them. “We need to truly parent trap them. Get them alone on what could be considered a date.”

Patton nodded, completely on board with the idea. “How do we do that?”

“Back to school dinner.” Virgil whispered, shooting a grin at Patton. “Dad won’t know any better.”

“I’m assuming it’s tradition to have a special dinner before the next year of school?” Logan asked, getting twin nods. “Our dad has never said no to a fun dinner. He commonly quotes Donna Meagle - ‘treat yo self’.”

“So we ask if we can go someplace a little fancier.” The gears were turning in Roman’s head, ideas forming left and right. “And then we slowly get out of it. I bet I can claim forgetting about summer reading and rope Lo into helping me.”

“Because you did that last year?”

“Shh!”

Virgil played with the frayed edges of his blanket. “I can tell him the restaurant makes me anxious. It probably will.”

Roman turned to the final member of their mission. “Pat?”

“I, um… I don’t know what to do.”

“You could fake sick?”

Patton made a face at Roman’s suggestion. “He’d believe it and then I’d feel bad. I don’t want to do something that isn’t true.”

“Tell him you worry about Virgil and don’t want him to be alone.” Logan suggested. “It’s not something that would be false, and it’s something your father wouldn’t question.”

“So it’s settled.” The huge smile on Roman’s face was infectious. “We commence stage three, dinner plans, next week.”

When next week rolled around, their plan went off without a hitch. Roman realized he actually  _ had  _ forgotten about summer reading. With how frantic he was, Remy allowed the two of them to stay home.

“Did you want me to help too? I can tell Em -”

“No!” Roman cried out, nearly blurting out their plan. “You can’t help, my teachers will know. They always know.”

A few blocks away, Emile was being nearly pushed out the door by Patton.

“If V is too anxious, we could go somewhere else.” He said, pulling out his phone to text Remy.

Virgil pushed on the phone, shaking his head. “Roman wanted a fancy dinner before we became sophomores. It’s not fair for me to deny him that.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“We’ll be fine, we haven’t had twin time in a while.” Patton ruffled Virgil’s hair. “And I think some of the blonde is coming back through.”

Virgil’s hands shot to his hair. “We’ll be careful with the hair dye.”

“Alright. Call me if you need anything!”

“Have fun!”

Emile arrived at the restaurant right on time, opting to wait in the entry for the Sanders. Needless to say, he was a little confused when Remy was the only one to walk in.

“I thought the boys were coming?”

“I thought  _ your _ kids were coming.”

Before they could figure out what had happened, a waitress appeared next to them, holding a stack of menus. “How many?”

“Two.” Remy said, following the waitress as she headed to a table in the back of the room.

“Your server will be by for your drink orders shortly!”

Emile sat down across from Remy, sliding his chair in. “Virgil stayed home because he was anxious about the restaurant and Patton stayed to make sure he wasn’t all by himself the night before they start school again.”

“Roman forgot his summer reading for the second year in a row and needed Logan’s help.” Remy leaned his arm on the table, resting his chin in his palm. “I think we’ve been set up.”

“What?”

“Please, Em, you can’t deny that we have chemistry. Our kids would have to be blind to not pick up on it.” Remy said, his voice dropping ever so slightly. “Does this count as our first date?”

Emile’s cheeks flushed immediately, earning a flirty smile from Remy. “I - what -”

“Hi, I’m Alice, I’m your server tonight.” A dark-haired woman said as she walked up to their table. “Can I get you started with some drinks?”

“Water please.” Emile squeaked out, before hiding his face behind the menu.

Alice looked over at Remy, leaning towards him. “And for you, handsome?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Remy could see Emile glare at the server. “I’ll take a bottle of sparkling rose for me and my date.”

The server immediately backed off, her customer service smile replacing her real one. “Of course. I’ll be right out with those.”

“This isn’t a date, Rem.” Emile put the menu back on the table. His cheeks were mostly back to normal. “A date is planned.”

“It could be a blind date.”

“We’ve met already.”

Remy nodded, before biting his lip. “Em, if you don’t want this to be a date, it doesn’t have to be a date. We can forget I ever said anything.”

“No! I - that’s not -” Emile took in a deep breath. “I would like to go on a date with you. But preferably not one set up by our kids. One that we plan together.”

The soft look Emile gave Remy was sweet enough to make him blush - which was something that other people were never able to do. He glanced down as he felt the back of his neck heat up. “Sounds great.”

“You weren’t wrong about the chemistry though.” Emile placed his hand over Remy’s on the table. Both of their cheeks heated at the action.

Remy laced their fingers together. “Good.”

The two of them took their time with dinner, lingering when they were finished.

“We should probably head out, I think they close soon.” Emile said, standing up.

Before he could grab his coat, Remy slipped it off the chair, holding it up. He helped Emile put it on, sliding it up and fixing the collar. Leaning in close, he whispered, “I can’t wait for our first real date.”

Emile wanted nothing more than to turn around and kiss him, but he managed to hold himself back. Instead, he gave Remy a peck on the cheek. “Neither can I.”

They went their separate ways, each being assaulted by their own children as soon as they walked in the door.

“How’d it go?” Patton asked, a knowing look on his face. Virgil was right behind him, wearing the same expression.

“It went well.” Emile hung up his jacket, hoping to calm his warm face. “Though next time, you could just tell us that you wanted us to go on a date.”

Giggles gave them away immediately. The twins disappeared into their bedrooms, satisfied with Emile’s answer.

When Remy walked in, Roman was at his side in seconds, tugging his coat off. “Well? How was your date?”

“It wasn’t a date.” Remy kept his voice level, cracking once he saw their faces drop. “But we are going on a real date soon.”

“SUCCESS!”

Rolling his eyes, Remy pointed toward the stairs. “Now go to bed. And no more meddling in my love life!”

“So you love him?”

“Bed!”

Once the delinquents had gone to their rooms, Remy pulled his phone out, sending a text to Emile.

**Babe: How does Wednesday sound?**

**Honey: Sounds wonderful <3**


	11. A Real Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Money worries, kissing

“So, you’ve come to us.”

Remy was sitting on the couch, resisting the urge to roll his eyes as Roman paced in front of him. Logan merely sat on the side, a notebook in his hand.

“Roman, I just asked for ideas of where to go.” Remy shook his head. “Maybe I should just ask Em where he wants to go.”

Practically vaulting over the coffee table, Roman snatched Remy’s phone out of his hand. “No! Please, let us help. I’ve been dying here. You never give us any details!”

“Because there aren’t any to give.” Logan said before either of them could speak again. “This will be their first date, remember?”

There was a huff from Roman. “Fine. But I want to hear details after, okay? Emile clearly makes you happy, and that’s what we want for you.”

“I will give you details.” Remy held up a hand as though he was being sworn in. “Now can I please have my phone back?”

“Not until we think of a place.”

“What kinds of things does he like?” Logan asked, pen at the ready.

Remy thought back to all the times he and Emile had spoken. “Well, he really seemed to like Roman’s play. He loves talking about his job and how well his patients are doing, even though he can’t name names. Oh, when we were talking about Finding Nemo - Dory specifically - he mentioned that he hadn’t been to an aquarium in a really long time. Something about Patton being scared of the sharks and Virgil not liking the tunnel.”

“That’s perfect!” The high-pitched shriek from Roman had Remy and Logan covering their ears. “Sorry. But imagine it! He can check out all the fish while you check him out.”

Logan nodded, putting his pen down. “Not how I would’ve put it, but Roman is correct. An aquarium date seems like it would work well. And if everything is favorable, you could buy him a cute stuffed animal from the gift shop. From what I’ve seen from Virgil and Patton, their family seems the type to appreciate those types of gestures.”

“Can I have my phone back to let him know then?”

Plopping Remy’s phone in his hand, Roman picked up his own and began typing furiously. He and Logan left the room, likely talking to Patton and Virgil in their group chat.

**Babe: How does an aquarium date sound?**

**Honey <3: That sounds lovely! I know a restaurant nearby, we can have dinner and then go to the aquarium if you want.**

**Babe: Sounds perfect. I’ll pick you up at 6?**

**Honey <3: Sounds good to me!**

The second Roman walked in the door after school on Wednesday, he dropped his backpack and went to find Remy. “What are you wearing tonight?”

“Roman, I’m working.”

“You have a date to get ready for!”

Setting down his tablet pen, Remy spun in his chair. “It’s only three. I’m picking him up at six. Can I get an hour of work done before you insult my closet?”

“ _ Fine _ .”

Whirling around, Remy continued working on his design. It was a tattoo that one of his regulars had requested, and he was hoping to finish the overall design by the weekend. It covered a lot of skin and would rake in some much needed cash for the parlor.

He quickly fell back into the zone, working on the clean lines. It wasn’t until he felt Roman physically tapping his shoulder that he realized it had already been an hour.

“You’re done!” Roman said, pulling the chair back from the desk. “Time’s up!”

“Okay, okay. Let me save.”

Roman waved a hand toward the tablet before tapping his foot on the ground. When Remy had finished saving, he found himself being dragged into his bedroom. Logan was already in his closet, sorting through the clothes.

“I’ve found some suitable pieces for a semi-formal restaurant, as well as one that would require a more formal dress.” He said as he laid out some clothing Remy hadn’t worn in forever. “Do you know which type of place you’re going to?”

“Let me ask.”

**Babe: Sweetheart, what should I be wearing to this lovely date?**

**Honey <3: Wear something semi-formal! Though I wouldn’t mind seeing you in a suit <3**

**Babe: A birthday suit?**

**Honey <3: I wouldn’t be opposed *kissy face emoji***

Feeling his face heat slightly, Remy pocketed his phone before Roman could steal it and attempt to read the messages. 

“Em says semi-formal.”

Logan put a few pieces back into the closet, before nodding to Roman. “You’re up.”

Roman dug through the pieces, holding up a shirt here and there. He shook his head on a few pieces, tossing those at Logan. Grumbling, Logan hung them back up and put them back in the closet as Roman continued.

After nearly fifteen minutes, Roman had a full outfit. He pressed it into Remy’s arms, pushing him toward the bathroom. “Go! Put it on!”

In the bathroom, Remy finally got a good look at the outfit. He couldn’t help but smile. Clearly Roman had gotten his sense of style.

He pulled on the gray pants. The black and white striped shirt was next, though he did fumble with the buttons for a second. It was a simple look, but it fit him extremely well. Emile wasn’t going to know what hit him.

Stepping back into the bedroom, Remy did a twirl. “Hmm?”

Logan tilted his head, taking it in. “I believe it would be best to show off your arms. Many people are attracted to tattoos.”

“I’ve definitely seen Emile checking out your arms.” Roman teased, coming over and perfectly rolling up Remy’s sleeves. “Lo?”

“It is as close to perfection as it can get, given that perfection is unattainable.”

With a smile, Remy held his arms out, wrapping them around his boys when they jumped into them. “Thank you for the help.”

“I have one final question.” Roman said, looking up. “What’s for dinner?”

“I don’t think we’ve seen Gerald in a while.”

“YAY!”

After ordering the pizza, Remy headed back into his office to get some work done. He quickly found that he couldn’t concentrate. A certain pair of green eyes continued to float through his mind.

Before he knew it, he realized that he’d completely started a new design. A brain, with the definition lines showing off a question mark in the white space.

“That wasn’t the one you were working on before.” Came a sing-song voice from Remy’s side.

Checking the clock, Remy swore. It was only a few minutes to six.

“I’ll be home late. There’s ice cream in the freezer, do your homework, don’t kill your brother!” He called out as he grabbed his wallet, jacket, and keys before darting out the door.

He pulled up to the Picani’s just as the clock rolled over to six. Calming his breathing as he strode up to the door, he knocked.

Only for the door to open and have Emile knock the breath from his lungs anyway. The pink dress shirt hugged Emile’s small muscles in a delicious way. Not to mention the pants that were showing off his curves.

“You look amazing.” He said, sure that there were stars in his eyes.

Blood rushed to Emile’s cheeks immediately. “Why thank you. You look great as well.”

“Just go already!” Two voices called in unison.

Laughing, Emile shut the front door, following Remy into his car. He slid a hand over the leather seats. “I don’t think I’ve ridden in your car before. It’s nice.”

“A lot nicer than a minivan.” Remy teased, earning a playful glare from Emile. “I kid, I kid. The van is way easier for when we all go somewhere. Now, where is this restaurant?”

“It’s near the aquarium, so we can park in their lot and walk.”

Emile refused to tell Remy anything else about the restaurant. Instead, they chatted about how their kids were doing in school.

“Patton has been doing so much better, thanks to Roman.” Emile was saying as they pulled into the lot. “I’m glad he found someone who thinks like he does.”

Pulling the keys out of the ignition, Remy said, “Same with Logan and Virgil.”

The two got out of the car, Remy immediately offering his arm. Emile took it, feeling another blush creep up his neck. “It’s just over here.”

“Wait, we’re going to Lottie’s Boulangerie?”

Upon hearing the concern in Remy’s voice, Emile stopped. “Did you not want to -”

“No, I - I do want to.” Remy glanced back toward the restaurant, taking in the shining lights that were going to make Emile look positively radiant. “I just...it’s a little on the expensive side and -”

“Rem, I’m paying for dinner.” Emile’s tone of voice told him there would be no argument. “You can pay for the aquarium tickets.”

“But -”

Tugging on Remy to spin him around, Emile slid his arm up to wrap around his neck. When he heard the sharp intake of breath from the other man, he bit back a smile. “I’m paying for dinner.”

“O-okay.”

Emile immediately let go and started walking, trying not to laugh when he heard Remy scrambling to catch up.

Dinner went swimmingly. The two of them loved their dishes, and their waiter was as polite as can be. Emile snagged the check before Remy could see it, leaving behind a generous tip.

Before long, the two of them were entering the aquarium.

“Wow.” Emile breathed as they entered.

Remy felt his heart swell as he watched Emile look around. He’d purposely picked a day of Aquarium After Dark, so that they could be a little more alone. It was an adult only night, ensuring that they wouldn’t be bothered by any screeching toddlers or crying babies.

“What do you think?”

“It’s so much prettier lit up at night.”

Remy paid for their tickets, noting that they weren’t nearly as expensive as their dinner was. But Emile had insisted on paying, and he wasn’t exactly rolling in funds, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.

The two of them strolled through the different areas, taking everything in at their own pace. Emile had squealed when they found the ‘Finding Nemo’ tank, filled with all the fish that could feasibly live together.

“Look, it’s Dory!” He whisper-shouted, despite the two of them being the only ones in the room.

Remy pointed to a clownfish. “And Nemo and Marlin.”

By the time they reached the tunnel, one of the last areas of the aquarium, the two of them were holding hands. Emile let go to get up close to the glass, watching the sea turtle swim by.

Taking a deep breath, Remy walked up behind him, wrapping his arms around Emile and nuzzling his hair. “How was this for a first date?”

Emile gently turned in his arms, a soft smile on his face. “I’d say it’s one of the best ones I’ve been on.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Their noses brushed.

Remy leaned in.

Their lips connected.

Emile’s hand moved to thread through the hair at the nape of Remy’s neck. Remy curled his arm around Emile’s waist, dragging him ever closer.

When they parted, they were both red faced and breathing heavier.

“Definitely the best first date.” Emile whispered before leaning in once more.


	12. Uh Oh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Money worries, kissing, implied nsfw

The boys were completely ecstatic to hear that the date had gone so well. It was pretty much a given that the four of them hung out every day after school at one of the houses.

On this particular day, Emile was hanging out at the Sanders’ kitchen while the boys were doing homework in the living room.

Remy had walked off to take a quick phone call, which let Emile watch their boys over the half wall separating the rooms. He was extremely glad that Virgil and Patton had found such good friends. Compared to their last school, this was 300 times better.

“Penny for your thoughts?” A voice asked in his ear as a pair of strong arms slipped around him.

Emile leaned back into the embrace. “Just thinking about how lucky I am that our kids found each other and got us together.”

“You’re a sap.” Was the teasing reply, before a pair of lips brushed against his cheek.

Turning, Emile stole a real kiss, his arms looping around Remy’s neck. “I’m your sap.”

Remy grinned, tugging Emile closer. He gave him a much deeper kiss. The two broke apart when they heard a series of groans coming from the living room.

“Get a  _ room _ .” Roman cried out, covering Logan’s eyes.

Logan elbowed his brother. “I’m thirteen. Why can I handle this more maturely than you can?”

Sanders’ brothers started playfully bickering. Logan’s burns against his brother had Virgil laughing so hard he fell off the couch, which lead to all of them laughing.

While the boys were distracted, Remy ushered Emile out onto their back porch. Mostly to escape the prying eyes, but also because it was a beautiful night.

“So, what was that call about?” Emile asked as they sat on the steps leading to the backyard.

A heavy sigh left Remy’s mouth. He ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up all over. “That was my finance guy. He said that we aren’t doing so hot at the parlor.”

“Can I do anything to help?”

“Not unless you want about a hundred tattoos.” Remy joked. When he saw the grimace on Emile’s face, he couldn’t help but smile. “Truth is, we haven’t been doing so well lately. Our town is a bit too small for a parlor, and I knew that, but it had always been a dream of mine. I haven’t been feeling it as much lately.”

“Dreams do change.” Emile pointed out, linking their fingers together. “I didn’t dream of dating anyone after their mother died. But then you came along.”

Leaning over, Remy laid his head on Emile’s shoulder. The angle was a little awkward, but he didn’t really care. “I’m going to have to get another job.”

“Anything in particular you’d want to do? A new dream?”

“Maybe bartending?” Remy suggested. “I do love me some gossip, and they hear  _ everything _ that happens in town.”

Emile leaned against Remy’s head, putting just enough pressure. “I think The Mystic Sip is hiring.”

“Thanks babe.” Remy moved just enough to give Emile a quick kiss. “I’ll go job hunting tomorrow.”

“Did you want some company? It’s my day off.”

“That would be great, thank you.”

The next day, once the kids were at school, Remy headed over to the Picani’s place. Emile let him in, working on his own breakfast.

“I constantly forget how big this place is.” He said as he leaned against the counter.

Emile blushed a little. “It’s not really that big. Our last house was actually bigger, but I wanted something that felt more cozy. Though nothing is cozier than your arms, honey.”

The offhand compliment had Remy blushing to the tips of his ears. He felt his jaw drop open, unable to form any kind of coherent response.

“What? Not used to being outflirted?” Emile asked, a glint in his eye.

Brain restarting, Remy gave his best flirty smile. He could see the blush forming on Emile’s cheeks as he walked closer, pinning the shorter man against the counter. “Oh, I much prefer action over words.”

He leaned in, wanting to kiss Emile until he forget his own name.

Unfortunately, the smoke alarm went off.

“Shit!” Emile cried out, pulling his eggs off the hot area of the stove. He poked at them with a spatula. “They don’t look that bad.”

“Babe.”

“Okay, they’re pretty bad. But only because you distracted me!”

After giving Emile another lingering kiss, Remy smirked. “How do you feel about some more distractions?”

As he spoke, he slipped his fingers just under Emile’s shirt, making the other man gasp. “That - I wouldn’t say no.”

Reconnecting their lips, Remy blindly lead them to Emile’s bedroom with surprising success.

A while later, the two of them headed off to The Mystic Sip. It was more of a speakeasy than a bar, which was an unusual aesthetic to see in this town. Emile took in all the decor while Remy quickly spoke to the owner.

“Hear you’re looking for some help.” He said, sliding onto a stool.

The owner, Marco, gave him a smile. “Rem, I’ve known you for years. If you want the job, you’ve got it.”

“Really?”

“From what I’ve observed in my visits to the parlor, you’re extremely hardworking and passionate in what you do. Not to mention the amount of people you’ve reassured while you’re inking them.” Marco grabbed another glass to dry. “Those are some of the bare essentials of bartending. Just add in making the drinks and you’re golden.”

“I don’t have much bartending experience.”

Marco shrugged. “These days people ask for so many crazy drinks, you’d think I didn’t either. I’ll show you the ropes.”

A knot that Remy hadn’t realized had formed in his chest loosened considerably. “Thank you so much. When do you want me to start?”

“How’s tomorrow sound?” When he got a nod, Marco continued. “Be here at four so I can help you out.”

“Of course! See you then.” Remy slid off the stool, a huge grin on his face. “Thank you!”

Linking his fingers with Emile’s, the two of them headed out of the bar. As they walked back to Emile’s car, Remy had a lot more pep in his step.

“Thanks for coming with me.”

Emile tugged on Remy’s hand to get him to stop and then kissed him. “Anytime. You know that.”

As much as Remy wanted to feel those pillow soft lips again, he figured the other citizens of the town wouldn’t appreciate them making out on the corner of Main and Centralia. Instead, he tugged them along to the car, waiting until they got back to Emile’s place.

Over the next month, Remy picked up bartending with ease. It was as though he’d been hand-crafted specifically to bartend. People flocked to him, and he was a natural at making crazy drinks, including coming up with some new ones himself.

He was sorry to let the tattoo parlor go, but one of his workers had bought the place, opting to turn it into a little flower shop. Last Remy had heard, he was having much more success than the parlor.

Even with the new job, which paid fairly well in both salary and tips, Remy was still struggling with finances. He never wanted to tell Roman or Logan that they couldn’t do anything, which lead to him giving up a few nights out with some buddies here and there.

One night in October, while his boys were busy with various projects, Remy headed over to Emile’s. Virgil and Patton were watching a movie upstairs, leaving the living room to them.

“Rem?” Emile asked after an episode of Parks and Rec. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Why do you ask?”

Emile shifted in Remy’s grip, sliding his legs onto his lap. “I can sense that something is off. You don’t have to tell me, but I do want to help.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Remy wrapped his arms around Emile. “I’m still having some financial issues. The house is just too expensive. And I’ve checked some other houses in town, but all of them are just a little too much.”

“Then you guys should move in!”

Two heads whipped around, finding Patton on the stairs. A flash of purple revealed that Virgil was hiding in the shadows.

“Roman and I can share a room, and Virgil and Logan can share. We don’t mind.”

“Patton -”

“And we feel like siblings anyway.”

Remy could feel his face burning the more Patton tacked on. He didn’t mind the physical aspects of a relationship moving fast, which is what had brought Roman into his life, but the emotional parts were something that scared him. Moving in together was a step he would’ve loved to take, but he wasn’t sure if it was too soon.

“Boys, can you let us talk? Alone?”

There was some thumping as the two of them ran back upstairs, excitement clear in their voices.

Emile slid more into Remy’s lap, straddling his legs now. He put a hand under Remy’s chin, tilting his head until they were looking eye to eye. “You don’t have to say yes, but I think Patton had a great idea.”

“I’m willing to bet it wasn’t just Patton.” Remy said, the butterflies in his stomach dissipating as soon as he heard Emile laugh. “It’s just...it’s not too soon? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. We’ve only been together a few months.”

“Nothing feels more right than being with you. Why wouldn’t I want that feeling all the time?”

Seeing nothing but pure love in Emile’s eyes filled Remy’s heart. He leaned forward, kissing him with as much tenderness he could offer. “Are you sure you’re okay with us invading your space?”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Remy kissed him again, a little more passion this time. “When can we move in?”


	13. Thanks Dad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Kissing, implied nsfw, mention of a panic attack

Throughout the remainder of the semester, the Sanders packed up their belongings. The Picanis came over to help them out most days, though it usually devolved into the boys goofing off instead of packing. Remy didn’t mind in the slightest, taking those opportunities to sneak some kisses from Emile.

Once finals were over and winter break was among them, they got the Tasks to help them move the boxes over to the Picanis. They were a little sad to see them go, but Emile offered up his place for a few summer barbeques, saying that all the kids could hang out together and swim in the pool.

As Brad pulled in with the last of the Sanders things, Remy hugged both him and Juliet. “Thank you so much for helping us out.”

“Oh, it was no problem at all!” Juliet gave him a big smile. “Just don’t go being a stranger now. I know where you live.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Remy said with a laugh.

The triplets raced into the room, all of them looking a little worn out. “Mom, we gotta go home and pack!”

“Pack?”

“Just a second.” Brad told the kids, before turning back to Remy and Emile. “We always head up to Colorado to visit my brother for Christmas. The boys love skiing, and Tanya loves the resort’s hot chocolate.”

“It’s  _ so _ good!”

Juliet handed her keys over to Trevor. “Go start the van, we’ll be right out.”

“Okay!”

The triplets headed out, chattering excitedly about their trip. Juliet gave Remy another hug, before giving one to Emile as well. “If you two ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“You’re still our neighbors.” Brad chimed in. “Even if you don’t live next-door anymore.”

The two headed out, Remy and Emile waving goodbyes on the porch before heading back inside. They looked at the mound of boxes in the living room, before glancing at each other.

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.”

Instead, the two of them headed upstairs to check on the boys.

Logan had been ecstatic to share a room with someone who wasn’t as loud as his brother. Virgil was glad to have someone in the room as well, used to sharing a bed with Patton on occasion. 

The two of them were chilling in their room. Logan was reading another book on astronomy from the library, while Virgil had his headphones on.

“I’m surprised you haven’t fully unpacked for Virgil.” Remy said as he leaned in the doorframe.

Logan shook his head. “It’s good to take breaks sometimes, lest we overwork ourselves.”

“I’m glad you learned that.” Emile slid into Remy’s side, smiling at Logan. “It’s a really important lesson.”

Logan gave the two of them a nod before returning to his book.

Roman was going over various options for monologues for his audition. Auditions were only a few weeks after school started up again, and he was determined to get another lead role.

When Remy and Emile peeked in, they couldn’t help but smile as Roman performed for his one-man audience. Patton watched him with awe.

As Roman finished his monologue, Emile clapped. Roman jumped ever so slightly, but turned it into a bow. “Thank you, thank you.”

The evening quickly came to a close, with all four boys heading to bed at a normal hour. Virgil was more or less pushed to go to bed by Logan, but Emile was grateful. The poor kid needed his sleep.

Emile had to do the same with Remy, dragging him off to bed.

“Come on, Rem, it’s bedtime.”

“Mmm, I wouldn’t mind bed time.” Remy sat on the side of the bed, dragging Emile down into a kiss. “The kids are asleep, right?”

Emile gave him a stern look, which was starting to melt as Remy slid the tips of his fingers under Emile’s shirt. “Rem.”

“Em.” Remy replicated his tone, as well as the eyebrow raise. “Compromise - just kisses?”

“I need to get changed first, and so do you.”

There was a glimmer in Remy’s eye. “If you wanted me to take my clothes off, you could’ve just asked.”

“Rem!” Emile whisper-yelled, his face flushing. “They could hear you, you know!”

Winking, purely to see Emile get redder, Remy dug through one of his boxes to find his sleep pants. Roman had gotten them for him for Christmas last year. The black pants were covered with sheep in sunglasses.

Once the two were changed and under the covers, Remy dragged Emile to him and placed a kiss on his nose. “Thank you again for letting us move in.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be my pleasure.” Emile teased, before kissing him deeply.

It took a little while for either of them to get to sleep that night.

Over the next few days, the Sanders settled in much faster than they would’ve thought. Logan dragged Virgil to bed every night, as well as waking him up at a normal hour. The result was a much less sleep-deprived Virgil, who actually saw the sunrise one morning.

Virgil ensured that Logan took breaks from his work, as well as introducing him to the concept of soaking in music. Shockingly, Logan ended up loving some of the bands Virgil introduced him to, sliding them in with his usual rotation.

Patton was more than happy to listen to Roman’s monologues, and give him positive feedback. Though Roman would never admit it, his self-esteem was lacking. But having a positive almost-brother was just what he needed.

Roman loved to be a taste-tester for Patton’s dishes. He could usually figure out what was wrong with cooking, but Logan was the one who could determine what had gone wrong with baking. Either way, whenever Patton was in the kitchen, Roman was there as his sous chef.

Watching their boys get along filled Remy and Emile’s hearts with love. It truly was as though they’d meant to be brothers.

Christmas came up fast, and with little time for either parent to buy the other boys gifts.

“It’s Christmas!” Came the cry that morning from Patton and Roman’s room. Remy groaned when he heard the footsteps pounding down the hallway, throwing a pillow over his head.

The door opened and the boys came running in, diving onto the bed.

Emile laughed as Remy burrowed further under the covers. “Rem, come on. Time to get up.”

“Is it earlier than seven?”

“ _ Remy _ .” Emile poked him again, earning a groan. Rolling his eyes, he turned to the boys. “Go wake up Logan and Virgil. Gently.”

“Okay!”

After they left the room, Emile pulled the pillow off Remy’s face. “Honey, they’re excited.”

“It’s too earlyyyy.”

Dipping down, Emile pressed a kiss to Remy’s lips, grinning when the man followed him up to a sitting position. “Apparently it’s not.”

“I hate you.” Remy mumbled against Emile’s lips, sliding a hand up his back.

Emile tangled his fingers into the hair at the base of Remy’s neck. “They’ll be back soon.”

“We’re back now, and ew.”

Emile pulled away and climbed out of bed, despite Remy’s protests. He tossed a shirt at his boyfriend, laughing when it hit him in the face. “Come on. I’ll make your coffee.”

“Deal.”

Everyone headed downstairs. Logan, Remy, and Virgil headed to the coffee pot immediately. Logan poured his and vanished, preferring it black. Virgil dumped a bunch of creamer in his, nearly turning it white.

Emile grabbed Remy’s mug, putting in his usual before handing it back. “You know it tastes the same even if you make it.”

“Nope. It’s missing the best ingredient.” Remy took a sip. “Love.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Stop being saps and get in here!” Roman cried out, earning some laughs from the adults.

They did as they were told, heading into the living room. Before anyone could grab any presents, Remy blocked the tree. “I need to say that I’m sorry for not getting more for Virgil and Patton. But I did get each of you a few things.”

“I’d like to say the same for Logan and Roman.” Emile nodded to the tree. “But all of you have at least a few things each.”

“You didn’t have to get us anything.” Logan said, looking a little shocked. Virgil nodded, echoing the sentiment.

Emile shook his head. “I didn’t have to but I felt I needed to.”

Still looking gobsmacked, Logan nodded. “Thank you.”

The next hour was spent opening gifts. Patton was ecstatic about the Nerdy Nummies cookbook that Remy had gotten for him, and Roman had shown the same level of excitement over the book of famous monologues from Emile. Logan was busy tracing the felt cover of a new astronomy book, also from Emile, as Virgil opened his last gift from Remy.

“Noise-blocking headphones!”

Remy smiled as Virgil started tearing into the box. “I saw the hazard that was your last pair, so I figured you needed some new ones.”

“Thanks, Dad!”

The room fell into silence as Virgil realized what he’d said. His eyes went wide and he glanced up at Remy. “I mean - I -”

Turning red, he scrambled to his feet and darted off to his room. Patton was right on his heels, calling his name, before Roman and Logan darted off after them.

It took a little while to calm Virgil down, but eventually he came out of his room. He refused to make eye contact with Remy, so he pulled the teen into Emile’s office.

“I want you to know that I’m not mad.” Was the first thing he said, making sure that he wouldn’t send Virgil into another panic attack. “It was an honest mistake. And I - I don’t mind if you call me dad. That’s fine.”

“Really?”

Remy nodded and opened his arms, hugging Virgil tightly when he dove into them. “It’s perfectly fine. You can tell Patton to call me that too if you want.”

“I will.” Came the mumbled reply.

Even though Virgil wasn’t technically his kid, Remy couldn’t help but think of him as such, along with Patton. He wanted to be their dad for real.

So when everyone gathered back in the living room, and Emile was busy cutting off some clothing tags, Remy pulled out his phone and hopped on Pinterest.

**New board created: Future Wedding**


	14. What Do We Do First?

The Picani twins took to calling Remy ‘Dad’ almost immediately. Seeing how happy it made their own father, the Sanders boys did the same to Emile.

The first time Logan said it to Emile, he almost cried. Tears welled up in his eyes and he’d gently hugged Logan, making sure it was alright first. Logan hugged him back tightly and let out a soft sigh before heading up to his room.

Over the course of the rest of the boys’ sophomore year, Remy was working up the courage to have a very particular conversation with Emile. Every time he thought he was ready, he chickened out, opting for anything else.

Emile wasn’t stupid, and he could tell Remy had something he wanted to talk about. But the beginning of the year was a busy time for him. There were many people who decided that their resolution would be to finally go to therapy, and Emile was picking up clients left and right.

By the time everything evened out, and those who decided therapy wasn’t for them had dropped it, April had rolled around. The first time Emile truly had a break was the weekend of Roman’s musical.

“I’m headed to the school! See you after!” Roman was shouting into the house as Emile came home.

Emile ducked around him, giving him a high five. “Break a leg.”

“Thank you!”

Roman zipped off, hopping in with Tanya Task, who was waiting at the end of the driveway. The two of them headed off to the school.

Logan cleared his throat, getting everyone’s attention. “We’re going to go hang out in my room until it’s time for dinner. Unless you want help?”

“No,” Remy cut in, realizing what Logan was trying to do for him. “We’ve got it. You probably don’t want to see us sneaking kisses anyway.”

“Is it sneaking if we know you’re doing it?”

Patton giggled at Virgil’s question before heading upstairs behind his brother.

The room fell into a comfortable silence as Emile and Remy expertly moved around each other as they made dinner. The routine was comfortable, the two of them “sneaking” kisses as they went along.

Once the sauce was simmering with the pasta noodles, Emile slipped onto one of their stools. “What’s been on your mind recently?”

“Should’ve known you noticed,” Remy said, before biting his lip. “There’s a conversation we need to have. But I don’t think we should have it while our kids are spying on us.”

A loud gasp came from the staircase, followed by scrambling footsteps as the boys darted upstairs.

Emile stood, taking Remy’s hands in his. “I’m hoping it’s a good thing we need to talk about, but whatever it is, we can have a mature conversation.”

“Oh, god, of course it’s a good thing, Em!” Linking their fingers together, Remy pressed a kiss to Emile’s forehead. “It’s about moving forward, not back. I promise.”

“Pinky promise?”

Remy wrapped his pinky around Emile’s, looking at him with all the love in his heart. “Pinky promise.”

“Apologies for ruining the moment, but I’d rather not eat burnt pasta.”

Both parents dove for the stove. Remy clicked the knob to turn off the heat while Emile yanked the pot off, moving it onto a hot pad.

“Thanks, Logan.”

As the boys set the table, Remy ran a hand through his hair, huffing a little. He’d avoided the conversation again, even though it hadn’t been his intention.

_ Tonight.  _ He thought to himself, smiling as Emile moved around the table, scooping out portions.  _ We talk tonight. _

After everyone had eaten their fill and they’d cleaned up, it was time to head over to get seats for Roman’s show.

“But it starts at 7, Em.” Remy said as Emile drove them over to the school.

Emile shook his head, but anyone could see the small smile on his face. “It starts at 7, yes. But we need to go now so we can get decent seats.”

“Yeah, the best seats tend to be taken by 6:15, if my notes are any indication.” Papers ruffled before Logan spoke again. “Of course, Roman may have gotten the privilege of saving seats for family, but that would technically only apply to the Sanders.”

Turning around, Remy noticed the look on Logan’s face. He simply gave him a nod, the two of them breaking into grins.

It wasn’t surprising that Logan had figured it out. It wasn’t as though Remy had been trying to hide it.

Emile pulled into a parking spot, everyone heading to the front doors. They were joined in the lobby by the other Tasks, the kids all paying for their tickets and heading in to save seats while the adults talked amongst themselves.

“Tanya has been so excited for tonight. I’m so glad she got cast as Elphaba, it’s been her dream role for years.”

Remy laughed. “Yeah, that’s how Roman was last year. He was so excited to play Cinderella’s Prince.”

They talked for a little while longer, before Emile tugged on Remy’s arm. “Rem, the lights are flashing, we’ve gotta go!”

Emile and Remy gave the Tasks a wave goodbye before hustling to their seats. As soon as they’d taken their jackets off and gotten settled, the lights were dimmed completely.

The show went on without too many issues. At one point Roman’s mic hadn’t been turned on, but he managed to project enough that the hanging lights picked up his voice.

During Dancing Through Life, Roman absolutely killed it. The crowd cheered loudly as the music faded, and everyone could see the giant smile on Roman’s face before the lights dimmed.

As the lights came up at the end of the show, the entire audience was on their feet, whistling and clapping.

The Picanis and Sanders made their way to the lobby. Within just a few minutes, the cast came out, making their way to their respective families.

Roman rushed over, giving Patton a bear hug. He gestured for the other boys to join, giving them space as they obliged.

“What did you think??”

“You did amazing!” Patton gushed, jumping up and down in place. “Fiyero is such a good part for you!”

Giving Patton another hug, Roman turned to Logan. “Thanks for the help with the choreography. That little rhyme you made up helped me so much.”

“You’re welcome.”

“V? What did you think?”

Virgil glanced up from fiddling with his sleeves. “You were really good. I can tell that your range has gotten better. Not that it was bad or anything last year, but-”

Roman laid a hand on his shoulder, stopping the explanation. “I get you, no worries.”

“Roman! We’re taking a cast picture!”

“Gotta go, can’t make Elphaba mad.” The joke got a laugh out of the family, and a few of the surrounding crowd. “I’ll meet you guys at home later, we’ve got that cast party tonight.”

“Be home by 11, and stay safe!” Emile called after him as Roman disappeared into the crowd.

“Can we go?” Virgil’s voice was nearly a whisper. He had pulled his hood up and was tugging on the strings.

Emile and Remy exchanged guilty glances before quickly getting the boys back out to the car. Once they were on the road, Remy saw Virgil’s shoulders relax from the rear-view mirror.

“I’m sorry we didn’t leave sooner.”

The two locked eyes in the mirror, Virgil nodding. “It’s okay.”

“Hey, it’s okay to be anxious, remember?” Emile said, his tone gentle. “Do we need to change your medication? You made it through the adjustment period.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I’ll give Dr. McCall a call tomorrow and we’ll get an appointment set up.”

Remy just barely heard Logan whisper, “I can come with if you want. I’ve been doing some research.”

The boys ran upstairs as soon as they got back home. Logan and Virgil were going to look up some of the medications that Logan had looked into, while Patton worked on a diorama.

Swallowing his nerves, Remy grabbed Emile’s hand. “Hey, Em? Can we talk? Good things, I swear.”

“Of course.”

Emile sat down on the couch, watching as Remy paced back and forth. “Do you need therapist Emile or boyfriend Emile?”

That cut the tension, letting Remy get a laugh out. “Boyfriend Emile. And, that’s….kind of what I wanted to talk about.”

“Rem.” Emile’s eyes were getting wide. “Are you proposing?”

“No! I mean, not right this second.” Remy let out a deep sigh. He pushed his hair back, hand bumping into his sunglasses. Taking them off, he played with them in his hands. “But...if I were to do so in the future?”

“Oh, honey, I’d love that!” Grabbing Remy’s face, Emile pulled him into a quick kiss.

Resisting the urge to continue, Remy pulled back ever so slightly. “There’s one more thing. It’s about the kids. We...well, we already pretty much co-parent. I’d like to adopt them.”

That made Emile give him a soft smile. “While I wholeheartedly agree, and I want to adopt your boys as well...we should wait.”

“What?”

“I’m worried what Virgil might think if we adopted them before we were married.” Emile started to explain, threading their fingers together. “He might be afraid that you’ll leave me and then he’d have to deal with two households.”

Leaning so that their foreheads touched, Remy asked, “He’d be afraid or you would be?”

“...maybe a bit of both.”

“Emile Thomas Picani.” Remy started, dropping to one knee. “This isn’t a proposal, but rather a pre-proposal. I love you more than anything on this earth, second to my sons only. If I asked for your hand in marriage, what would you-“

“Yes!” Emile cut him off, pressing their lips together once more, but with more urgency. “Yes, Remy, I will agree to marry you whenever you choose to propose.”

“You’re perfect.”

“Uno reverse.”

The two giggled, falling into each other’s arms and talking as they waited for Roman to get home.


End file.
